USDA and FDA Sign Agreement on Transfer of Regulatory Authority Over Catfish
Officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture recently signed a memorandum of understanding on the regulation of imported and domestic catfish. The memo is “intended to facilitate the transfer of primary regulatory oversight over Siluriformes fish and fish products, including commercial catfish, basa, pangasius, and swai/tra, from FDA” to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, said FDA (here).
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The transfer of catfish regulation from FDA to FSIS was originally required by the 2008 Farm Bill (see 08051905). February’s 2014 Farm Bill ordered the agencies to draft a memorandum of understanding and accelerate the transfer (see 13121124). FSIS issued a proposed rule on catfish in 2011 (see 08051905), and is currently working to complete a final rule.
Under the April 30 memorandum of understanding, the agencies “will plan for the orderly transition, in phases, from FDA to FSIS of primary regulatory oversight of domestically produced and imported Siluriformes fish and fish products, as provided in the final rule.” Only regulation of catfish is being transferred, and other fish and fish products will continue to be regulated by FDA, so at facilities where both catfish and other fish are handled the two agencies will continue to work side-by-side under the terms set by previous memorandums of understanding, it said. Each agency agreed not to inspect fish regulated by its counterpart unless specifically requested. But both FDA and FSIS will immediately share any information related to apparent violations involving catfish or other fish, respectively.