September, 2008 Edition

                                          What's Happening at the FCC

Lobster Tomalley – Update

Further to the August newsletter which reported on Japan’s initiative to test the tomalley of lobster imports regarding its PSP level, Korea followed suit and is also now testing. A CFIA/Health Canada team will be meeting in Tokyo this week to try to establish an export/import protocol in order to eliminate the testing procedure. The team is armed with a comprehensive science commentary that demonstrates that the test being used is inappropriate regarding PSP in lobsters.

Revised Import Regimes

CFIA is in the final phases of rolling out proposed revisions to the Canadian seafood import regimes for Basic and QMPI importers. The proposals will be issued in October with an aim to have final documents approved and in effect April 1, 2009. An information session was held with the QMPI segment in March with workshops in June. Information sessions with Basic importers will commence in October.

Import Rejects

The FCC has entered an arrangement to obtain the monthly seafood import rejections of CFIA and the food safety agencies of the US, the EU, and Japan. The FCC will be sending a monthly consolidated report to its Inspection/Technical Committee.

Bill C-51 – Amendments to the Food and Drug Act

First a few comments. This is only a Bill and it remains to be seen if it ever becomes law. Many proposed changes to food law have been introduced in the last 25 years that resulted in no change.

Bill C-51 proposes significant amendments to the Food and Drugs Act. With respect to food, important amendments include:

  • broadening the application of the Act to cover importation of food as well as its sale;
  • expanding regulation-making authority to include: establishing food safety controls for preparation, packing and storage of high-risk foods; creating new record-keeping and reporting requirements for those involved in importing, processing, preparing or selling food; and requiring those who sell or import food to establish tracing systems;
  • adding licensing and/or registration requirements for importation and interprovincial trade of food products and establishment registrations for sites conducting activities to be prescribed by regulation.

    Other changes and features of Bill C-51 include:

    increased fines and penalties for offences under the Act and/or non-compliance with orders made under the Act from the current maximum fine of C$250,000 up to C$5-million, or unlimited if the action was willful or reckless;

  • each day that an offence is committed or continued constitutes a separate offence;
  • empowering Health Canada to make new regulations:
  • establishing pre-clearance or in-transit requirements for imported products;
  • establishing requirements for tracing systems, quality management programs, quality control programs, safety programs or
  • other similar programs; specifying the documents or classes of documents that are to be prepared, retained and/or provided to the government or an inspector under the Act; and
  • new compliance and enforcement powers including the authority to order steps to be taken to reduce risks, such as stopping activities in contravention of the legislation, requiring measures to be taken to identify or respond to a risk of injury, or requiring imported products to be removed from Canada at the owner’s or importer’s expense.

    To a large extent both Canadian seafood processors and importers already have to meet these requirements under the CFIA fish and seafood regulations.

    MSC Standardizes Its Sustainability Assessment

    In response to industry criticism that the MSC fishery sustainability assessment was in large part left to the discretion of the certifying company, MSC has now established an assessment default methodology. Every fishery will now know exactly what will be asked of it to meet the MSC standard. The methodology will be phased in over the next two years and will start to take effect on fisheries now entering the full assessment process.

    Province of British Columbia to Help Finance BC Industry’s MSC Initiatives

    BC’s Ministry of Environment will contribute $100,000 to help the BC industry obtain MSC certification. Currently, six fisheries are in the full assessment phase – sockeye, pink, and chum salmon; halibut; hake; and dogfish. Seven other fisheries are in the early stages of the MSC process

    Shrimp, Canned Tuna, Salmon Continue to Lead USA Consumption

    Americans ate the same seafoods – just less of them overall – in 2007 than they did in 2006, according to the top 10 list of species consumed.

  • Shrimp, canned tuna and salmon stayed in the top three slots, with Americans eating less shrimp and canned tuna then they did in 2006 but consuming more salmon.
  • Pollack and tilapia retained the fourth and fifth slots, with both increasing their consumption levels.
  • Catfish, crab, cod and clams all stayed in the same places they were on the 2006 list, with minor variances up or down from that year’s consumption levels.
  • Tenths place was regained by flatfish, which was on the list in 2005 but replaced by scallops in 2006. Overall, Americans consumed 16.3 pounds of seafood per person in 2007, down from 16.5 pounds in 2006.

    • Aquaculture: Main Buyer of Fish Meal

    In 2000, aquaculture consumed 35% of fish meal production. In 2007, the figure reached to 62%

    World Seafood Exports Set Record $92 Billion in Trade

    The international seafood trade is expanding rapidly, with 38 percent of world fish production now being sold on international markets, according to a new report published by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The value of world seafood exports grew 9.5 percent in 2006 and another 7 percent in 2007 – to a record $92 billion. Developing countries continue asserting their importance to the industry, accounting for 50 percent of all seafood exports in volume terms, though just 27 percent of the value – or $25 billion. Developed nations now account for 80 percent of global seafood imports.

    China – Main Player
    China is the world’s largest exporter of fish, valued at $9.7 billion in 2007, but its imports are also growing rapidly. China imported seafood worth $4.2 billion last year. The FAO credits China with driving global consumption growth, as per-capita fish consumption in China has skyrocketed from just five kilograms per year in the ‘70s to more than 26 kilos. “In essence, much of the increase of total production of fish in the world has not only taken place in China, but has also been consumed in China,” the report said. The increase in China’s imports is also partly a result of outsourcing, as Chinese processors bring in raw fish material from other regions, including South and North America and Europe for reprocessing and export. China appears likely to overtake Spain as the world’s third largest importing country.

    At the regional level, the EU is the world’s biggest market for fish, reflecting both growing domestic consumption and its recent expansion to 27 countries. Excluding intra-regional trade from within its own borders the EU imported $23 billion worth of fish and fisheries products from non-EU suppliers in 2007, an increase of 11 percent over the previous year.

    Carbon Footprint – Destroying the Food Miles Myth

    Sea freight is by far the most environmentally-friendly mode of transport employed by the seafood industry. Shipping seafood to Asia for processing is more eco-friendly than is widely believed. Although the practice of shipping seafood to China, Vietnam and other low-cost countries for processing, then back again to rich Western markets, has long been demonised, it turns out that the concerns may be misplaced. According to a report by the UK’s Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish), processors boost their yield so much by operating in Asia that it often offsets the total greenhouse gas (GHG) cost of transporting their finished products around the world. Consider the GHG cost of transporting one tonne of fish to London. (All scenarios assume the vessels are running at full capacity.)
  • Shipping the tonne from China to London in a container ship – a distance of 10,900 miles – costs a mere 190kg of carbon dioxide (C02).
  • The same tonne coming from Aberdeen, Scotland by truck – just 536 miles away racks up 250kg of C02.
  • Finally, sending the tonne the 1042 miles from Iceland to London on an aeroplane would chew up an incredible 3250kg of C02.
    Regardless of the mode of transport, by far the biggest GHG contributors the industry are its primary producers – fishermen and fish farmers. Primary producers typically account for as much as 80% of the GHG cost of any given seafood product, says the Seafish report. In contract, processing and packaging tend to account for a small fraction of total GHG – usually less than 10%. As such, any attempt to lower the seafood industry’s carbon footprint must hinge on identifying and supporting fuel-efficient fisheries.

    • FCC 2008 Conference, Quebec City, October 21-23
    Enhancing culture, breathtaking scenery, storied history, and the amenities of a modern urban business center. Great networking opportunities our Conference attracts seafood executives as well as senior federal and provincial government officials involved in fisheries and ocean issues. We offer a great location, informative plenary sessions and insightful and knowledgably speakers. And, with its 400th anniversary, Quebec City is more alluring than ever.



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