February 26, 2009 Washington, DC – The Better Seafood Bureau (BSB) has made its case for economic integrity to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). BSB secretary Lisa Weddig testified before the FDA Science Board in an effort to encourage the government to take a more prominent role in stamping out the practice of short weighting and species substitution.
“Enforcement needs to focus on all violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic Act – even those that don’t pose a public health risk,” Weddig testified.
The FDA’s mandated role in not only food safety but enforcement of fraud-related regulations is often overlooked.
“We have no doubt that those companies willing to cheat in one area such as economic fraud will also be willing to cheat or take short cuts on food safety controls. And we get evidence of these bad actors on an almost daily basis,” said Weddig.
Her testimony comes as part of a renewed effort to make economic integrity within the seafood community a focus of not just the industry but those tasked with regulating it.
During her statement Weddig said, “fraud prevention is a partnership between the government and the industry. Industry follows the rules and government enforces the rules.”
Her testimony comes just days after the FDA’s rerelease of its Guidance to Industry, a public reminder of existing FDA policy that warned net weight fraud is a felony.
The Better Seafood Bureau (BSB) was established by the National Fisheries Institute to provide a mechanism for industry’s partners in the supply chain – restaurants, retail operations, producers and processors - to report suppliers suspected of committing economic fraud.
###
Gavin Gibbons
(703) 752-8891
ggibbons@NFI.org
