A leading New Zealand seafood industry trade group is praising an agreement between the country’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The agreement recognized that both government bodies use the same set of standards for safety in seafood.
“The agreement is a vote of confidence in New Zealand’s food safety system and in the high quality of New Zealand’s seafood products,” said Lesley Campbell, acting chief executive of Seafood New Zealand.
The agreement has been in the works since initial discussions started in 2010, but the agreement was only finalized recently. Knowing both countries hold their industries to the same standard, Campbell said, gives consumers confidence in the products they buy.
Campbell noted that New Zealand exports around 10 percent of its seafood to the United States directly, with a value of NZD 147 million (USD 123.6 million, EUR 94.4 million) for the year ending 31 October 2012. The agreement, she said, will help streamline the export process.
“At a practical level it will reduce compliance costs, for example, with less inspection and oversight of our products at the border we can expect those products to move more quickly into the United States.”
