SIPA was founded in 2002 in order to facilitate scientific research into all issues relating to the food safety and food security of fishery and aquaculture products that have been imported into the European Union. SIPA acts as a representative body for members of the international seafood community. Most of the available funding has been spent on studies relating to chemical food safety, especially in the area of residues of pharmacologically active compounds (antibiotics) in seafood. The studies have been published in books and journals from various areas of science. The publications have helped the European Commission in guiding a path for creating regulations which ensure the safest food for the European consumer, and which also offer a level playing field for the international seafood industry.