U.S. EU To Restart Shellfish Trade Talks

Trade in shellfish between the United States and Europe is set to resume after more than a decade, Food Safety News (FSN) reported.

Photo Insert: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture during a meeting with EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius

Spain and the Netherlands will be allowed to export chilled or frozen shellfish such as mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops to the US, while the states of Massachusetts and Washington can do the same to the European Union (EU) beginning at the end of this month.

Because of differing regulatory standards, trade in live, raw, and processed bivalve molluscan shellfish had been banned between the two regions since 2011.

In 2015, both sides carried out audits and, following years of discussions, the EU Commission and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found the control systems for the production of raw bivalve mollusks in the two American states and the EU countries are equivalent.

“This announcement demonstrates an exciting opportunity for US seafood producers to deliver world-leading products to consumers in the EU and furthers the US Department of Agriculture’s mission to provide US stakeholders opportunities to better compete in the global marketplace,” said Tom Vilsack, US Secretary of Agriculture.

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