Sea Urchins, Prepared or Preserved

Prepared and preserved sea urchin roe (uni) is a high-value specialty product driven primarily by Japanese culinary demand, and Japan is the leading supplier of processed sea urchin to the US market, followed by Chile and Spain. The heading maps to a single 10-digit line (1605620000), reflecting the relatively narrow commercial range of processed sea urchin formats — primarily salted, pasteurized, or otherwise preserved roe. Quality grade, processing method (salt-packed versus alum-treated versus pasteurized), and species origin are the key commercial differentiators that affect pricing and buyer specifications. FDA admissibility review applies; importers should confirm that foreign establishments are FDA-registered and that cold-chain requirements are met throughout transit.