The Louisiana House Commerce Committee on Monday rejected a bill that would have required restaurants to list the origin of the seafood being served.
House Bill 358, introduced by Rep. Jerry "Truck" Gisclair (D-Larose), was defeated by a 15-3 vote. A similar bill concerning the origins of crawfish is still pending.
"I am trying to protect an industry and our culture," Rep. Joe Harrison Jr. (R-Napoleonville) told the Times-Picayune. "Are we going to allow every food product in the United States to be grown in another country?"
The measure, if passed, would have required restaurant operators to attach notes to their menus or post signs telling customers where the seafood came from - whether from Louisiana, another state or a foreign country - and if the product was wild or farmed.
Louisiana Restaurant Association lobbyist Jim Funk said he "strongly opposed" the bill because it would have required possible daily menu changes, costing restaurants money at a time when profit margins are already slim. Page Bill requiring country of origin for seafood in restaurants fails The Advocate April 22, 2008 Tuesday
