An estimated 76 million food-borne illnesses in the United States were associated to seafood consumption.
In light of these negative developments, stricter standards, and the means of enforcing mandatory regulations" had been put in place. Citing a report from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) in 2005, "the potentially rapid spread of safety hazards through global trade has highlighted deficiencies in national food control systems in developed countries."
These concerns have pushed countries to develop more effective food safety systems. "From the point of view of many industrialized countries, the diversity of regulatory standards and programs across countries is a major regulatory challenge, particularly with regard to differences between developed and developing countries," the study said.
Considering that the United States consumes a huge amount of seafood products, it is only incumbent upon the government to allow importation of seafood products from other countries.
The increasing demand for seafood products until 2020 is a clear indication of a possible impacts it may have on the world's marine stocks. At the same time, the magnitude of the problem may have dire consequences on the implementation of food safety measures to protect millions of American consumers.
As global consumption for imported seafood products grew significantly, increasing domestic demands have increased inevitably.
Alone, the United States has accounted about 80 percent of all seafood consumption from imports. Of this volume, over 40 percent of those imports came from aquaculture operations, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported.
And two of the 10 most frequently in high demand are shrimps and catfish. China happens to be the biggest aquaculture producer in the world, with 70 percent of total production, and the third largest exporter to the United States.
In an import alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, it said that as the aquaculture industry continues to grow and compete with wild caught seafood products, concerns regarding the use of unapproved animal drugs and unsafe chemicals and the misuse of animal drugs in aquaculture operations have increased substantially.
But are the food imports you're eating on the table safe from contamination? That's something that the FDA inspectors have to find out. This is because there's no guarantee that imported food stuffs are safe for human consumption.
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