Malaysia

Abstract

HACCP was initially introduced and adopted by the low acid canning industry in the 1990 s. With the imposition of mandatory HACCP requirements on fish and fish products by EU in 1996 and US in late 1997, the fish processing industry especially the export-oriented sector have implemented HACCP to comply with the requirements of the importing countries. However, implementation of HACCP is on a voluntary basis. To promote HACCP implementation, DOF of Malaysia has conducted HACCP awareness campaign for fish processing establishments in 1999 - 2000. Various HACCP courses are also conducted on a regular basis by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Financial and technical assistance are available to fish processing establishments that are taking initiatives to adopt HACCP in their premises As of Jan 2002, there about 238 medium and commercial sized fish processing establishments of which 48 are HACCP-certified by the Ministry of Health (MOH). 45 are also approved for export to EU.