Report Assails U.S. Inspection System for Fish

The safety of the nation’s seafood was questioned Wednesday by a Washington-based consumer group that sharply criticized federal efforts to monitor fish for chemical contamination and harmful bacteria.

The organization, Public Voice for Food and Health Policy, issued a 44-page report entitled “The Great American Fish Scandal,” which purported to document the government’s inadequate inspection program.

The action comes at a time when seafood is being consumed in this country at record levels because of dietary concerns. Industry estimates place total annual sales at more than 3.4 billion pounds, an amount that translates into a per capita consumption rate of 14.5 pounds, or a 40% increase in the last decade.

‘Glaring Omission’

“People are eating more fish today but they are unaware of the degree of risk involved because of a lack of (federal) inspection and the growing level of environmental contamination,” said Ellen Haas, Public Voice executive director. “This is the most glaring omission in the nation’s food safety framework.”

The Commerce Department’s National Marine Fisheries Institute offers a voluntary safety inspection program and, as a result, monitors as little as 13% of the fish commercially available. The Food and Drug Administration also checks seafood for problems, but is limited in its efforts by staff and funding constraints.

In comparison, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requires that all red meats and poultry undergo federal inspection at the various processing plants nationwide.

“The government is doing the best they can under the circumstances,” said Elizabeth Kissel with the National Marine Fisheries Institute. “It just depends where you are sitting as to whether there is a problem.”

Federal officials and industry representatives responding to the Public Voice statements said that consumers are adequately protected by the present program. However, most agreed that more could be done.

Inspection Program Studied

A spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group, said that a federally funded study is currently under way to determine what type of inspection program should replace the current system. The $350,000 project will not make recommendations for another two years.

“How does one look at the small number of illnesses traced to seafood and then say that a major threat exists? We don’t think it does,” said Roy Martin, vice president for science with the fisheries institute. “The nation’s fish supply is very safe. If it wasn’t, then we would have more perceptible health problems in this country. Look at the fantastic job the seafood industry is doing now without an inspection program.”

The Public Voice report, however, stated that a 1982 survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta examined those food poisoning episodes in which investigators were able to pinpoint both the food and the harmful organisms responsible for the illnesses. Seafood was implicated as the source in 24% of those cases.

Haas also provided a list of 14 different bacteria and viruses that can infect fish and create illnesses in humans including salmonella, hepatitis, a strain of cholera and botulinum. The chronic presence of industrial and agricultural chemicals in water supplies also poses a potential threat from cancer agents in seafood.

‘No One Pays Attention’

“The situation has gotten worse with the deterioration of the water supply and no one pays attention to it,” Haas said.

She listed several areas in the country with known pollution problems from which no fish should be eaten, including Santa Monica Bay, the Puget Sound, the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay.

Public Voice released several recommendations for consumers to follow in the absence of any stepped-up inspection program. They include keeping seafood well chilled, not storing unfrozen fish for more than a few days, avoiding raw or improperly cooked fish and shellfish, avoiding fish harvested from areas with recurring pollution problems and purchasing shellfish from reputable dealers.