NYSG’s Seafood Safety training helps ensure the health and safety of seafood consumers in New York State, nationwide, and globally

Contact:

Michael Ciaramella, NYSG Seafood Safety & Technology Specialist, P: 631-632-8730, E: mc2544@cornell.edu

Stony Brook, NY, March 4, 2019 - Seafood is a traditional and important part of New Yorkers’ diets. The seafood industry contributes several billion dollars annually to the state economy. Each seafood business is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to have a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)-based food safety plan developed and monitored by a trained individual.

In 2018, the nationally-accessed Internet-based HACCP training course — developed to help seafood businesses meet federal and state training requirements and managed by New York Sea Grant in collaboration with the National Seafood HACCP Alliance — was translated and made available in Spanish.

In 2018, 1,329 individuals, from all 50 U.S. states and and 13 foreign countries, completed this Seafood HACCP Internet course. The individuals were from firms of all sizes that manufacture, process, handle, store, or distribute seafood products including large national firms as well as small and very small local seafood companies. Individuals from federal and state regulatory agencies also completed the training.

Since this course was launched in 2002, more than 14,508 people have completed the training, enabling industry to modify and improve seafood safety control plans throughout the U.S. and 74 foreign countries.



NYSG 2018 HACCP Training Impact Snapshot

• 788 students reported they will conduct the routine food safety monitoring or verification activities required by their company’s HACCP plan

• 789 students reported they will modify, improve or update their company’s existing HACCP plan; of these, 44% will make changes to correct deficiencies found during an inspection/audit

• 779 students reported they will share their knowledge and provide training to others; about 44% will train company employees re: HACCP implementation, 29% will provide training to others

• 521 students reported they will be involved in developing a HACCP plan for new seafood products or a new process to enable their company to expand

• 241 students reported they will use the training and info provided to conduct inspections/regulatory reviews for FDA or a state or local food safety authority

• 232 students reported they will use the training to develop a HACCP plan for a new business that they or others will be starting



Partners:
 
• National Seafood HACCP Alliance
• Sea Grant Seafood Technology Specialists nationwide
• National Association of Food & Drug Officials
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
• Cornell Cooperative Extension

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly. Our program also produces an occasional e-newsletter,"NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.