Safety

More than 95% of the Icelandic catches are exported. The EU is the main market for Icelandic fisheries products. Fisheries are outside the scope of the EFTA/EU agreement on the European Economic Area. European rules on food safety apply however to production of seafood in Iceland. Extensive monitoring is conducted on the marine environment as to evaluate the wholesomeness of Icelandic seafood products. The latest data availble can be found on the pages on pollution.

The Directorate of Fisheries provides supervision on board fishing vessels and in ports of landing, which involves inspection the composition of catches, fishing equipment and handling methods. The Directorate issues licences to processing plants and supervises their production. Processors have to meet specific requirements concerning hygiene, equipment and quality control. Approved inspection bodies are responsible for inspection of hygiene, facilities and in-plant monitoring of production, both in processing establishments on land and on board vessels. Formal accreditation of inspection bodies is required.   For further information on the functions of the Directorate related to food safety please go to its website.  

 Matís