USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) released a final rule establishing an inspection program for fish under the order Siluriformes, which includes catfish. The final rule, which applies to both domestically-raised and imported Siluriformes fish, was developed in order to implement provisions required by the 2014 Farm Bill.
The rule will become effective in March 2016, 90 days after it publishes in the Federal Register, at which point all Siluriformes fish will no longer be regulated by FDA. This date begins an 18-month transitional implementation period for both domestic and international producers.