Since Norway is a major supplier of seafood
worldwide, monitoring the food safety of Norwegian fish
products is a priority. This commentary gives a brief
overview of the food safety of seafood from Norwegian
waters. Several preventative measures during harvest/catch,
processing and distribution have been established and
are implemented regularly. Furthermore, comprehensive
monitoring programmes to detect and quantify undesirable
substances, such as heavy metals and polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), in Norwegian seafood are carried out.
Substances with health benefits, such as omega-3 fatty
acids, are also analysed. In general, evidence shows the
level of undesirable substances in seafood from Norway to
be low. In fact, in the majority of samples analysed, levels
of undesirable substances were reported to be below the
maximum limit set by the European Union (EU). This leads
to the conclusion that consumption of seafood originating
from Norway involves a low risk of negative health effects
and that consumers can have confidence in the products
they purchase.peer-reviewe
