National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

NOAA’s Oil Spill Response 

Ensuring the Safety

of Your Seafood 

Crude oil has the potential to taint seafood with flavors 

and odors imparted by exposure to hydrocarbon 

chemicals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

regulates the presence of hydrocarbons as a possible 

adulterant in seafood. 

The public should not be concerned about the safety 

of seafood they are buying at this time. The federal and 

state governments have strong systems in place to test 

and monitor seafood safety and to prohibit harvesting 

from affected areas, keeping oiled products out of 

the market. 

NOAA Fisheries is working 

closely with the U.S. Food and 

Drug Administration and the 

states to ensure seafood safety. If 

managers determine that seafood 

may be affected, the next step is 

to assess whether seafood is 

tainted or contaminated to levels 

that could pose a risk to human 

health through consumption. NOAA conducts a 

combination of both sensory analysis (of tissue) and 

chemical analysis (of water, sediment, and tissue) to 

determine if seafood is safe following an oil spill. The 

results will be made public as soon as possible. 

Seafood Inspection Program 

The NOAA Seafood Inspection 

Program has often been called upon to 

perform screening and training tasks following major oil 

spills such as the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska; 1996 

spill in Rhode Island; 1999 spill in Coos Bay, Oregon; 

and several spills in San Francisco including the most 

recent in 2007. 

Program experts perform sensory analysis to detect 

oil contamination. The results are compared with the 

results of chemical analysis conducted by NOAA’s 

National Seafood Inspection Laboratory in Mississippi or 

its Science Centers. 

In response to the current oil spill, the program is 

implementing a plan of operation to assist both industry 

and government to determine the extent of contamination 

in seafood. The program can mobilize staff to train state 

inspection personnel and industry on 

sensory analysis techniques to expand 

the detection capabilities. Depending 

upon the scope of the problem, it is often 

best to train a base of state or local 

industry personnel in the affected area 

rather than continue to have federal 

inspectors perform the routine analysis. 

(continued on back) 
The mission of the NOAA 

Seafood Inspection Program is 

to ensure the safety and quality 

as well as enhance the 

marketability and sustainability 

of seafood products for the 

benefit of the American 

consumer by providing sciencebased inspection services to the 

seafood industry. 

The program is voluntary and fee-for-service to 

provide professional inspection services to ensure 

compliance with food safety and quality regulations. It is 

the only federal program with authority to bestow the 

U.S. “Grade A” mark for eligible products that meet 

exceptional quality standards. 

Inspection Offices 

The NOAA Seafood Inspection Program can assist 

with all seafood inspection needs. Contact one of our 

regional offices about services in your area. 

Headquarters 

Silver Spring, MD 

800-422-2750 

Northeast Inspection Branch 

Gloucester, MA 

978-281-9303 

Western Inspection Branch 

Seattle, WA 

206-526-4259 

Southeast Inspection Branch 

St. Petersburg, FL 

727-570-5383 

To locate the regional office nearest you, go to 

http://www.seafood.nmfs.noaa.gov/Regional_Offices.html. 

You can learn more about NOAA’s Seafood 

Inspection Program at www.seafood.nmfs.noaa.gov. 

Learn more about NOAA’s response to the BP oil spill 

at http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/deepwaterhorizon. 

To learn more about NOAA, visit http://www.noaa.gov. 

June 30, 2010