Achieving adequate protection and suitable food safety indicators

Fish and other aquatic food products are an important source for well-digestible, high quality proteins and lipids, which are fundamental to a well-balanced, healthy diet (Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] 2014a). Fish are seen as healthy food due to their profile and content of essential amino acids, polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g., eicosapentaenoic acid and decosahexaenoic acid), vitamins, and minerals. Globally, total fish demand is increasing due to population growth, rising per capita consumption, and better access to global and local markets (FAO 2014a). Since the 1990s, the growing demand for aquatic food products cannot be satisfied by capture fisheries alone and caused a steady increase of aquaculture production of on average 8.8% annually. This makes aquaculture the fastest growing agricultural sector globally, especially in Asia (FAO 2014a). In 2012, the global fish production accounted for 158.0 million tons, while capture fishery produced 91.3 million tons and aquaculture production accounted for 66.6 million tons (data from 2012; FAO 2014a). Aside from the supply of fish to markets, the quality and safety of the food products is a prerequisite for trading. It is important to understand the globally established production systems and processing procedures to assess the potential risks for food safety and to maintain an adequate level of protection for consumers.