Frozen
Salted
Fresh
Meal / Oil
Farming
Quality
Research

REGULATIONS AND QUALITY ASSURANCE

Fish handling and processing is controlled by Law No 55/1998 on the handling, processing and distribution of seafood and Law No 54/1992 on the processing of all catch on-board fishing vessels. A number of regulations issued by the Ministry of Fisheries also relate to quality assurance and product safety, most notably regulations No 233/1999 on the safe handling, processing and distribution of seafood and regulation No 558/1997 on in-house quality control during processing. These acts and regulations are only available in the Icelandic language.

Quality of seafood is based on many attributes. Details of workmanship are built into specifications between processors and their customers but basic requirements relate to raw material quality, safety, hygiene and identity. These requirements must not be compromised by any processor since this would be a breach of Iceland's national and international commitments and would jeopardise the value and good name of Icelandic products on the international market.

Directorate of Fisheries
It is the function of the Directorate of Fisheries to ensure that the basic quality of Icelandic seafood is upheld by ensuring compliance with laws and regulations relating to the proper and safe handling of seafood. This is the main function of the Directorate's Quality Management Department. Furthermore, the Directorate has approved two private Inspection Bodies following their accreditation by the Icelandic Board for Technical Accreditation (ISAC) within the Icelandic Patent Office. Their function is to ensure that each processor has a complete system of quality management in place and fulfills the official requirements for seafood handling and housekeeping standards. Inspectors from these inspection bodies regularly visit all processors to check compliance and they send their weekly reports to the Directorate. Inspectors of the Directorate will also periodically inspect the premises and assess compliance with the requirements for quality management.

Every land based plant and on-board processor must hold a valid processing license. The licenses are issued by the Quality Management Department of the Directorate on the basis of certain requirements: The health and safety authorities must have approved the premises, the processor must have completed a contract with an Inspection Body, the Directorate of Fisheries must have approved the premises for seafood production and the processor must have in his employment qualified personnel for in-house quality management. Every approved processor is identified by his license number, including export documents for some markets.

The Directorate of Fisheries is responsible for co-operation with regulatory bodies and official inspection agencies in countries importing Icelandic seafood and for issuing various certificates for seafood in line with official requirements in the importing countries. The certificates establish that the products have been processed, stored and transported under conditions fulfilling official requirements in the importing countries. The certificates include:

Confirmation that products for the U.S. market have been processed in accordance with quality management by the system of Hazards Analysis of Critical Control Points (HACCP),
Health Certificate for imports to the European Union,
Certificate of inspection for exports to other countries,
Animal health certificate for fishmeal exports.

The Directorate is also responsible for the quality control of fishery products imported from countries outside the European Economic Area. Accordingly, the Icelandic authorities have established border control ports to carry out this regulatory function.

Quality assurance in the processing industry

Quality assurance in industry
Specifications for quality standards are agreed between processors and their customers in every sector of the industry. The specifications include details for all raw material characteristics, workmanship in processing, packaging, labelling and storage and for product quality in terms of sensory attributes and bacteriological factors. In-house quality assurance managers are responsible for compliance with these standards.

Sensory assessment is the basis for quality control of raw material and finished products in the freezing industry, saltfish processing, fresh fish production and aquaculture. Appearance and odour of the raw fish and flavour of the cooked products are important parameters. Interestingly, each saltfish is subjected to assessment of many attributes for appearance and this is the basis of the final quality grading. In the fishmeal industry, however, every lot is analysed chemically and bacteriologically and sold on basis of its chemical composition. Increasingly, fishmeal is also sold on the basis of in-vivo digestibility.

Finally, exporting companies for frozen seafood and saltfish operate their own quality control by inspection of products and premises and their subsidiary companies and further processing factories operate a comprehensive system for the final control of products.

Latest update August 2006