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FACT SHEET l Ohio Department of Agriculture |
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Governor Ted Strickland Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher Director Robert J. Boggs |
Food Safety Division8995 East Main Street • Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Phone: 614-752-9817 • Fax 614-466-4346 ODA URL: www.ohioagriculture.gov E-mail: foodsafety@agri.ohio.gov |
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FACT SHEET: National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP)
July 22, 2004
NATIONAL SHELLFISH SANITATION PROGRAM (NSSP)
1. What is the NSSP?
2. What is the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers
List (ICSSL)?
3. Is Ohio Certified in the NSSP?
4. Which
States/Countries/Territories are Certified in NSSP?
5. Why Did Ohio Become Certified in
the NSSP?
6. How Should Discrepancies be Reported?
7. Terminology
1. What is the
NSSP?
The National Shellfish Sanitation Program is a Federal,
State, and Industry voluntary program that relies on regulatory controls to
ensure safe molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams,
& mussels). These three parties combine to form a cooperative program that
has accepted responsibilities for the following procedures:
Ø
Each
participating State adopts adequate regulations for sanitary control of the molluscan shellfish industry applicable to that State.
Shellfish shippers who meet the requirements are certified to be listed in the Interstate
Certified Shellfish Shippers List.
Ø The FDA conducts an annual review of
each participating State Shellfish Control Program to determine the degree of
conformity with the NSSP.
Ø The shellfish industry cooperates by
obtaining shellfish from safe sources, providing plants that meet and maintain
sanitary operating conditions, placing tags or labels with the proper
certificate numbers on all packages and keeping records showing the origin and
disposition of shellfish.
2. What is the Interstate Certified
Shellfish Shippers List (ICSSL)?
The ICSSL is published monthly for the information and use
by food safety officials, seafood industry and other interested
persons. It is accessible at the following web address: http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/shellfis.html
The shippers listed have been certified by regulatory authorities
in the United States, Canada, Chile, Korea, New Zealand and Mexico under the
uniform sanitation requirements of the NSSP. Control measures of the
states are evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Canadian,
Chilean, Korean, New Zealand and Mexican shippers are included under the terms
of the shellfish sanitation agreements with the governments of these countries.
3. Is Ohio Certified in the NSSP?
Yes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved and
certified the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s newly adopted shellfish
sanitation program. Ohio is one of 31 states, countries or territories in the
NSSP. The Ohio Department of Agriculture has adopted rules for the regulation
of shellfish repackers and reshippers
(Chapter 901:3-8 of the Administrative Code).
These rules are modeled after the National Shellfish Sanitation
Program Model Ordinance.
4. Which States/Countries/Territories are Certified in NSSP?
Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana,
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington.
British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia,
Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Chile, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand.
How does Ohio’s Certification Affect Wholesale and
Retail Operations Handling Shellfish?
When a state is certified in the NSSP, all retail and
wholesale firms within that state may only receive shellfish
(fresh/fresh frozen) from other certified states, countries or territories.
5. Why Did Ohio
Become Certified in the NSSP?
NSSP certified states were denying
acceptance of shellfish from Ohio shellfish reshipping and repacking companies.
Are All Wholesale/Retail Operations
that Handle Shellfish Required to be Certified?
Not all firms that handle shellfish in Ohio are certified or
required to be certified. Firms involved
in interstate commerce that are repacking and/or
reshipping shellfish must be certified. Firms that repack shellfish for
intrastate commerce must be certified.
How Do You Assess the Approved
Source of Shellfish for Sale or Service in a Retail Operation?
Tags on shellstock are required to
identify all firms that have handled the shellfish. This is accomplished by firms using
certification numbers which are assigned by the certified state program. A firm that is not certified in the NSSP will
not have a number to place on its tags.
To verify that the shellfish being served or sold in retail
operations is from a state or country listed in the Interstate Certified
Shellfish Shippers List, sanitarians should check the shellfish tags as
well as the shipping invoices.
6. How Should
Discrepancies be Reported?
Untagged shellfish or shellfish from a noncertified
state or country should be reported to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s
Division of Food Safety. We will coordinate a follow-up investigation with the
U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Terri Gerhardt, supervisor in the division is certified by FDA as Ohio’s
shellfish officer.
"Shellfish" means all
aspects of:</para_first>
<level3><para_first>
(a) Oysters, clams, or mussels, whether:</para_first>
<level4><para_first>(i) Shucked
or in the shell;</para_first>
</level4><level4><para_first>(ii) Fresh or frozen; and</para_first>
</level4><level4><para_first>(iii) Whole or in part; and</para_first></level4></level3><level3>
<para_first>(b) Scallops in any form, except when the final product form
is the adductor muscle only.</para_first>
</level3></level2><level2>
<para_first>"Shellstock" means
live molluscan shellfish in the shell.</para_first>
</level2><level2>
<para_first>"Shellstock packing"
means the process of placing shellstock into
containers for introduction into commerce.</para_first>
</level2><level2>
<para_first>"Shellstock shipper"
means a dealer who grows, harvests, buys, or repacks and sells shellstock. A shellstock shipper
may also ship shucked shellfish. A shellstock shipper
is not authorized to shuck shellfish nor to repack
shucked shellfish.</para_first>
</level2><level2>
<para_first>"Shucker-packer" means
a person who shucks and packs shellfish. A shucker-packer
may act as a shellstock shipper or reshipper or may repack shellfish originating from other
certified dealers.</para_first>
</level2><level2>
"Repacker"
means any person, other than the original certified shucker-packer,
who repackages shucked shellfish into other containers.</para_first>
</level2><level2><para_first>"Repacking shellstock"
means the practice of removing shellstock from
containers and placing it into other containers.</para_first></level2><level2>
<para_first>"Reshipper" means a person who purchases shucked
shellfish or shellstock from dealers and sells the
product without repacking or relabeling to other
dealers, wholesalers, or retailers.