Office of Global Policy and Strategy

OGPS STATEMENT

August 25, 2023

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concluded the signing of a Regulatory Partnership 

Arrangement (RPA) with Ecuador’s seafood regulatory authority to enhance the safety of shrimp imported to the 

United States.

A first-of-its-kind, the RPA serves as an arrangement between the FDA and the Vice Ministry of Aquaculture and 

Fisheries (VMAF) to work more closely to reinforce food safety practices along the entire supply chain. Such 

arrangements aim to leverage commodity-specific oversight systems — in this case, imported aquacultured 

shrimp — along with data and information, to strengthen food safety before and at the port of entry.

In remarks during the signing ceremony on August 24, Don Prater, Acting Director of the FDA’s Center for Food 

Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) described the RPA as the “culmination of a lot of work and relationshipbuilding between both of our agencies.”

To prepare for the RPA, the FDA and VMAF signed a confidentiality commitment (CC) in August 2022 that allows 

for the exchange of confidential information, including inspection records, sample findings, and other non-public 

documents. In addition, the FDA conducted a rigorous assessment of Ecuador’s aquacultured seafood safety 

system and examined important parts of VMAF’s programs and capabilities.

The FDA found that Ecuador’s food safety controls for shrimp is science-based; is comprised of the basic food 

safety system key elements; has ongoing processes to ensure the sustainability of preventive controls; provides 

competent oversight throughout the supply chain; and has a public health focus.

Through this assessment, the FDA became confident that Ecuador has key components of a food safety oversight 

system for shrimp and shrimp products intended for export to the United States.

Thus, the FDA will be able to leverage data and information from Ecuador for the FDA’s regulatory decision 

making. And, vice versa, Ecuador will leverage data analytics from the FDA to inform their regulatory activities.

Since 94% of the seafood consumed by volume in the United States is imported, one of the agency’s tasks has 

been to ensure that imported seafood is held to the same food safety requirements as food produced 

domestically. In the past, that’s primarily meant intercepting unsafe food at the border and preventing its entrance 

in the U.S. marketplace.

In 2021, the U.S. Congress highlighted the importance of food safety related to shrimp – the most popular seafood 

in the United States - by mandating that the FDA consider and develop new options for enhancing the regulation 

of imported aquacultured shrimp, including an RPA with the three largest shrimp exporting countries by volume. 

Ecuador is one of those countries. 

Such an arrangement would provide an opportunity for the FDA and its regulatory counterpart to proactively learn 

about both country’s regulations and food safety initiatives, identify potential areas for collaboration, prioritize 

activities, and engage in specific regulatory and program evaluations.

With the signing of this first RPA with Ecuador, the FDA is delivering on this congressional mandate and is making 

progress on implementing the mandate with the two other countries, India and Indonesia.
“Ecuador may be a small country, but it is an important supplier of food to the United States, especially of 

seafood,” FDA Latin America Office Acting Director Michelle Rodriguez said at the signing ceremony. “To achieve 

our joint food safety goals, collaboration and information sharing is essential.”

The new RPA with Ecuador sets forth how the FDA and VMAF intend to collaborate with one another to: 

• Share information on best practices, food safety policies, and regulatory approaches to address the safety 

of shrimp

• Ensure prompt notification and response to adverse food safety events such as illnesses, recalls, and 

outbreaks 

• Promote and conduct training, including FDA Import Operations, Basic HACCP, Train-the-Trainer 

HACCP, Good Aquaculture Practices, Good Fishing Vessel Practices, and seafood decomposition 

detection

• Participate in shrimp inspections, audits, and investigations 

The FDA is already sharing information with VMAF, as a result of the 2022 CC, including import refusals, 

compliance actions, outbreak investigation information, and detailed sampling results. In response, VMAF has 

provided the FDA with information on Ecuador’s regulatory follow up to these events.

“This free flow of information yielded important food safety benefits for consumers in both of our countries, while 

demonstrating the trust we place in the Vice Ministry,” Rodriguez said. 

FDA Associate Commissioner Mark Abdoo signed the RPA on behalf of the FDA while Vice Minister Andrés 

Ahrens signed the arrangement for VMAF. Both an English and a Spanish language version of the RPA have 

been posted on the FDA’s website.

The RPA signing was scheduled so it would coincide with a day-long commemoration of the sixth anniversary of 

the creation of the Undersecretariat for Quality and Safety (Subsecretaría de calidad y inocuidad or SCI). The 

commemoration featured a series of presentations on scientific and technical topics, including presentations by 

Julie Moss, Director of CFSAN’s Office of International Engagement, and by Steve Bloodgood, Director of 

CFSAN’s Office of Seafood Safety.

SCI is the office within VMAF that is responsible for ensuring the health of fishery and aquaculture products, 

including those for export. 

For more information:

Enhancing the Safety of Imported Shrimp Through Regulatory Partnerships

International Cooperation on Food Safety

Imported Seafood Safety Program

(l to r) Minister Daniel Legrada, Vice Minister Andrés Arens, Acting CFSAN Director Don Prater

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