Louisiana Department of Health & Hospitals | Bruce Greenstein, Secretary

Commercial Seafood

The Commercial Seafood Program is the regulatory and enforcement agency for all seafood products produced and processed in Louisiana. All products must adhere to quality standards set forth in the Louisiana Sanitary Code and the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP). The NSSP is the federal/state cooperative program recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) for the sanitary control of shellfish produced and sold for human consumption. All oyster related facilities must adhere to the NSSP.

Louisiana is the United State's largest producer of seafood. Louisiana seafood is shipped around the world. Registered sanitarians with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Commercial Seafood program routinely inspect the state's approximately 350 seafood processing plants to ensure only safe product reaches the market.

Louisiana Seafood Safety - FDA Informational Flyer

At the beginning of the oil spill DHH sampled seafood (fish, shrimp and crab) to create a baseline. This baseline is used to ensure the safety of seafood in the future.

Facts: Prior to oil spill

Commercial Seafood Program in Economic Development

• One of every 70 jobs in Louisiana can be attributed to commercial fisheries*.
• Earnings from commercial fisheries amount to approximately $385 million*.
• Louisiana commercial fishermen have supplied the United States with seafood for centuries.
• Louisiana produces oysters, shrimp, crab, crawfish and alligator.
• In 2006, approximately $2.4 billion was the economic effect of commercial seafood (including: freshwater finfish, marine finfish, freshwater shellfish, marine shellfish) in Louisiana.
• With annual retail, import and export sales in excess of $2 billion, Louisiana seafood is important to our state's economy, which produced 26,915 jobs* for commercial seafood alone.

* The Economic Benefits of Fisheries, Wildlife and Boating Resources in the State of Louisiana (May 10, 2008). Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Sensory Training:

Ten DHH registered sanitarians attended seafood sensory training at the International Food Protection Training Institute. This federal sensory training program provided the skills to detect tainted in seafood by smell. DHH sanitarians are using this skill in response to the BP oil spill to determine whether seafood has been impacted by oil. These skills are critical in helping Louisiana determine whether to open or close molluscan shellfish harvest areas. A special National Marine Fisheries Services/Food and Drug Administration Sensory Expert Team trained food safety professionals from the Gulf States, including Louisiana. This training is a partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association's National Marine Fisheries Services and the USFDA.

Highlighted Facts

• In Louisiana, there are approximately 350 permitted and inspected wholesale seafood processors/distributors.
• Inspections are performed on oyster processors and dealers utilizing the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) concept.
• Louisiana is the nation's top producer of oysters, crabs, shrimp and crawfish.

 For more information contact David Guilbeau: david.guilbeau@la.gov