Chicken of the Sea first tuna brand to launch HACCP program.SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 1996--Chicken of the Sea is the first tuna brand to launch the federal government's new product safety and quality assurance system, and specially labeled cans are beginning to appear on supermarket shelves, Van Camp Seafood Co. Inc. Wednesday announced. The launch comes 20 months before the Food and Drug Administration's deadline that mandates all seafood be packaged under federal inspection. "By voluntarily incorporating the Hazard Analysis A hazard analysis is a process used to characterize the elements of risk. The results of a hazard analysis is the identification of unacceptable risks and the selection of means of controlling or eliminating them. Critical Control Points (HACCP HACCP hazard analysis critical control points. ) program into its canned tuna processing facility, Van Camp Seafood is demonstrating its commitment to food safety and product quality," said Richard V. Cano, chief of the National Marine Fisheries Service The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is a United States federal agency. A division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of Commerce, NMFS is responsible for the stewardship and management of the nation's living marine (NMFS NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service NMFS National Mortality Followback Survey NMFS Network Multimedia File System NMFS Nested Mount File System ) voluntary fishery products inspection program. The HACCP program includes control over all aspects of safety, wholesomeness, quality and proper labeling of the canned Chicken of the Sea tuna produced at Van Camp Seafood's processing plant in American Samoa American Samoa, officially Territory of American Samoa, unincorporated territory of the United States (2000 pop. 57,291), comprising the eastern half of the Samoa island chain in the South Pacific. . "It goes beyond the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. HACCP requirements which focus on safety," said Cano. "By incorporating this inspection program into its tuna processing facility, Van Camp Seafood Company is demonstrating its commitment to food safety and product quality." The HACCP concept was originally developed for the NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. space program 30 years ago to ensure food safety for astronauts. Chicken of the Sea's critical control point-based inspection program identifies hazards associated with the safety, wholesomeness and economic integrity of seafood products. Control points are established for these hazards and constantly monitored by the participant with corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or taken if problems occur. Van Camp Seafood must demonstrate control of processing, handling and storing operations through close monitoring and record-keeping activities audited by National Marine Fisheries Service inspectors. According to Dan Sullivan, Van Camp Seafood senior vice president of production operations, the Chicken of the Sea HACCP program monitors quality and safety at eight critical points beginning at dockside when the fish are brought off the boats and continuing through the canning process -- from cleaning to labeling and casing. "HACCP represents the most significant change toward food safety in the past 50 years," said Steven Otwell, Ph.D., University of Florida University of Florida is the third-largest university in the United States, with 50,912 students (as of Fall 2006) and has the eighth-largest budget (nearly $1.9 billion per year). UF is home to 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes. scientist and coordinator for the Seafood Alliance which established the HACCP training protocol. "It is the inspection model for food safety in the future. "Van Camp is ahead of the commitment curve in advancing safety for all foods," said Otwell. "They should be commended for their leadership in the seafood industry." Van Camp Seafood becomes the only tuna processor approved by the federal government to produce canned tuna for the United States market bearing the "processed under federal inspection" seal. Consumers and restaurant operators will begin seeing this seal on Chicken of the Sea cans early this spring. CONTACT: Valerie Lemke, 619/296-0605 or Joe Berry, 619/597-4246 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion