Commercial Seafood Program

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 one of the United States' largest producers of seafood. Louisiana seafood is shipped around the world. Registered sanitarians with the Louisiana Department of Health Commercial Seafood program routinely inspect the state's seafood processing plants to ensure only safe product reaches the market.

Highlighted Facts

• In Louisiana, there are over 300 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 one of the nation's top producers of oysters, crabs, shrimp and crawfish.
• At the beginning of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, LDH sampled seafood (fish, shrimp and crab) to create a baseline. This baseline is used to ensure the safety of seafood in the future.

Commercial Seafood Inspectors

The Commercial Seafood Program has four inspectors who cover the state of Louisiana. If you need assistance in a specific parish with a complaint about a seafood plant or you wish to open a new seafood plant, please refer to the following information to find the appropriate point-of-contact for your area:.

For general information, call our Central Office at 225-342-7653.

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