Lawmakers in the U.S. state of Mississippi are attempting to expand the state’s seafood-labeling law after two high-profile cases of mislabeling emerged and authorities have increased awareness of the prevalence of imported seafood.
“I believe the consumer or tourist in Mississippi has a right to know what they’re purchasing. There have been cases of misleading,” Representative Brent Anderson, the legislator who introduced the bill, told the Biloxi Sun Herald.
Current state law forbids restaurants, retailers, and wholesalers from implying that foreign-origin shrimp or crawfish is a locally caught product. Anderson’s bill would expand that law to cover all seafood and require establishments to display country of origin information clearly.
The legislation comes after Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, a seafood restaurant in Biloxi, admitted in court it had falsely sold imported seafood as locally sourced fish for years. From 2013 through 2019, the restaurant purchased frozen imported fish from wholesaler QPS and sold it as a premium, local species.
A court placed the restaurant on probation in November 2024 and issued a USD 149,000 (EUR 142,000) fine. QPS was also placed on five years probation and fined USD 500,000 (EUR 476,000).
Communities in the Southern United States have been working to raise awareness of the high levels of imported seafood being sold at restaurants as local products.
In December 2024, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) sent out an alert claiming that U.S. consumers are frequently misled into believing foreign seafood is locally caught, which the government noted is illegal.
Recent DNA sampling carried out by Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based SeaD Consulting in collaboration with the Southern Shrimp Alliance has revealed high levels of foreign shrimp being sold by local restaurants and vendors. One of the latest samplings revealed that 96 percent of shrimp tested at restaurants in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.A., was imported.
That increased awareness of imported seafood being sold unknowingly to Mississippi consumers may be helping the legislation sail through the legislature. The state House approved the bill unanimously earlier in February.
“We haven’t received any opposition whatsoever,” Anderson told the Biloxi Sun Herald.
Similar laws have made progress in other Southern states. The Georgia House recently passed a bill requiring restaurants to label imported shrimp, and last year, Alabama passed a law requiring delis and restaurants to indicate whether seafood is local or foreign-sourced.
