The Department has two operational Units, namely: Engineering and Material Science Unit and Food, Agriculture and Cosmetic Unit The main activities of the Department are factory inspections, consignment inspection of manufactured goods for export and market surveillance with the following Decrees and Legislative Instruments as its legal operational bases.

The primary activities of the Department span the whole value chain of the fishing industry involving; Registration of exporters of fish and fishery products Inspection and approval of fishing vessels (freezer and trawler), fish processing plants, cold stores, ice making plants and landing sites The country for that matter the Ghana Standards Authority was enlisted on 1 July, 1998, as the EU Competent Authority to export fish and fishery products to the Europe Union (EU). Exporters intending to export fish and fishery products to the EU and other countries must register with the Department by completing a registration form (link) and comply with the requirements of Fishery Products Regulations. The Fishery Products Regulations may be obtained from the GSA Library for a fee.

This Department conducts inspection of High Risk Goods imported into the country, for which the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) has been appointed as the Competent Authority by the Ministry of Trade and Industry since 2003.