The Senate of Georgia has advanced legislation that would require restaurants and other foodservice establishments to disclose the use of imported shrimp on their menus.
“This bill adds transparency that benefits consumers, the local restaurants supporting U.S. shrimpers, and hardworking fishing families that are the economic backbone of coastal communities,” Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) Executive Director Blake Price said in a statement. “We thank Senator Ben Watson and Representative Jesse Petrea for acting to help consumers make informed choices when ordering seafood at restaurants.”
If passed, the legislation would require Georgia food establishments to include the term “FOREIGN IMPORTED” next to every item on their menu that includes imported shrimp.
The state senate passed the bill in a 43-to-8 vote. The state house passed the legislation a year ago but will now need to approve the amended bill as well.
Georgia is the latest Southern state that has sought to protect its domestic shrimp sector by requiring companies to inform customers if they are serving imported shrimp. Those efforts have been supported by a campaign led by SeaD Consulting in partnership with SSA, which involves sampling shrimp sold at restaurants in Southern states to test whether it is of foreign or domestic origin. The tests have shown high levels of foreign shrimp being sold in lieu of domestic shrimp.
“We know that 27 percent of shrimp are consumed while people visit coastal communities, like Savannah. That isn’t because tourists want to eat foreign, pond-raised shrimp closer to American fishermen and our abundant oceans,” Price said. “Our testing is driving awareness, and as more people learn that 94 percent of their seafood is imported, the more they are asking how to find authentic U.S. wild-caught shrimp. That’s where the market needs labeling laws and strong enforcement.”
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas all have some form of seafood labeling law on the books, while Florida and South Carolina are pursuing similar legislation.
At the federal level, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi) has introduced the Let Americans Buy with Explicit Labeling (LABEL) Act, which, if passed, would require country of origin and production information to be printed on seafood packaging and displayed “in a font size at least as large as the product name.”
