The 2018 (most recent) economic impact in sales of the Alabama and Mississippi seafood industries was $895.5 million, and the industries created or sustained 17,564 jobs.
In 1995, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) introduced its Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program to the food processing industries, including seafood. Every wholesale processor and distributor of seafood is required to have an approved HACCP plan in place to ensure the safety of seafood we consume. Understanding the complex regulations and developing a HACCP plan was a challenge for small processors. The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has had an important role in helping the seafood industry develop HACCP plans and complying with HACCP regulations.
Notable seafood safety extension accomplishments in the mid-'80s through '90s included:
The rich history of MASGC’s role in working with the seafood industry dates back to the creation of the Alabama Sea Grant Advisory Program in 1974 when Dr Billy Powell was hired as its first specialist. It is not clear how much Dr. Powell did with the seafood processing industry, but he was very active in promoting the industry.
The first seafood technologist, Bob Collette, was hired in 1984. Bob worked hard to establish relations with the seafood processors but left after a year to work with the National Fisheries Institute.
Brian Perkin, who had a master’s degree in food science from Louisiana State University, joined the Alabama Sea Grant Advisory Program in 1985. Brian had held a similar position in the Georgia Sea Grant Program, which enabled him to have an immediate positive impact. He quickly established contact with sea food processors and began helping them with federal and state compliance in seafood safety, as well as processing techniques and marketing.
Brian also contributed to regular Sea Grant newspaper columns writing on topics of interest to seafood consumers and providing some very popular recipes. Brian passed away in 2002, and Bob Becker was hired on a part-time basis to continue assisting with HACCP plans and other seafood safety programs.
Bob was a recently retired FDA inspector and was very knowledgeable of the HACCP process. He particularly enjoyed helping the processors comply with safety regulations after being the “bad” guy who inspected their processing plants when he was an FDA inspector. When Bob passed away in 2008, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant reassessed its role in HACCP and scaled back considerably because of the increasing number of private sector firms who would work with processors and distributors to develop and maintain HACCP plans.
*LaDon Swann contributed to this blog post.