Main health risks associated with Moroccan fishery products exported to European Union countries

The export of fishery products constitutes a very significant axis of the exchanges with certain countries, especially the countries of the European Union (EU). In Morocco, the exported fish products are controlled by the veterinarians of the National Office of the Health Security of Food products (NOHSF) according to a procedure which is based on documentary control, identity and physical control and possibly analytical control. This control is complemented by monitoring plans. Currently, the product control has become a more demanding task due to the significant volume of fish production, the lack of means and human resources, hence the need for a novel approach to the control of fishery products based on risk analysis, which involves the establishment of appropriate controls aiming at guaranteeing that the products are safe. The objective of this work is the hierarchization of the main health risks associated to the fishery products exported to EU countries by Morocco. This approach is based on an overall analysis and statistical analysis using principal components analysis (PCA) of the health profile of the notifications of the Rapid Alert System for the foodstuffs and feeding stuffs (RASFF) from 1981 to 2015. This work allowed the development of a criticality matrix which specifies the health profile of species of products exported to EU countries via Morocco according to species, of danger and type of product. The control of fishery products based on risk analysis is a very important approach for the Moroccan competent authority.