Food > Fish and Seafood  

Fish, Seafood and Production

The purpose of the Fish, Seafood and Production Division is to develop and promote appropriate product and process standards that contribute to the achievement of acceptable quality, safety and identity of fish and seafood products, and to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with these standards.

The division promotes and supports the value, wholesomeness and marketability of fish and seafood products produced or sold in Canada by developing, promoting and ensuring compliance with appropriate standards that contribute to the achievement of acceptable quality, safety and identity of fish and seafood products.

The division carries out a full range of activities, from the development of appropriate standards, to the promotion of their adoption, through to ensuring compliance with those standards. Inspection ensures that standards are relevant, necessary and sufficient to achieve quality, safety and proper labelling of fish and seafood products. Standards cover all aspects of the harvesting and processing of fish products. They promote timely, effective and efficient intervention at critical processing stages.

The division is committed to cooperation and collaboration with its clients and partners, as well as other government departments at the federal, provincial and local levels, other countries and consumer groups.

The inspection program also encompasses the maintenance of databases on contaminants in fish and fish products, and the inspection of fishing vessels, facilities used in the offloading and holding of fish prior to processing, vehicles used in the transportation of fish, fishermen packer facilities and cold storages.

Also, all consumer and trade complaints involving fish products are investigated to determine the cause of the complaint and the appropriate follow-up action.