The U.S. state of Mississippi is set to begin enforcing a newly passed seafood labeling law which will require grocery stores, markets, restaurants, and other vendors to clearly note whether the seafood and crawfish they sell are imported or domestic.
“Mississippi's new seafood labeling law is a pivotal step toward restoring consumer trust and safeguarding the integrity of our Gulf Coast heritage,” Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) Executive Director Joe Spraggins said in a statement. “By mandating clear domestic or imported labeling for all seafood products, the law empowers consumers to make informed choices, ensuring they receive the quality they expect and deserve. This transparency not only supports local fishermen and businesses but also holds establishments accountable. As we embrace this change, we reaffirm our commitment to honesty, quality, and the rich culinary traditions that define Mississippi.”
The law is set to take effect 1 July. Both the MDMR and the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce (MDAC) will oversee the labeling requirements, and they will be conducting inspections of businesses to make sure they are complying with the law.
“In the same way our MDAC inspection team has long enforced the marketing law for U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, we look forward to expanding our efforts to protect Mississippi consumers by adding seafood and crawfish to the inspection protocol. Our Mississippi Gulf Coast seafood producers and processors set the gold standard when it comes to food safety, and Mississippi consumers will now be able to easily identify the seafood’s country of origin when making buying decisions. I am truly excited to partner with Director Spraggins and the Department of Marine Resources as we work together to strengthen and protect Mississippi’s Gulf Coast seafood industry. I encourage every Mississippi consumer to look for and purchase domestic U.S. seafood whenever you eat out and shop,” Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson said in a statement.
The new law also establishes a Mississippi Seafood Marketing Task Force, which will produce a report of recommendations on marketing and producing Mississippi seafood by the end of 2026.
The bill, which was passed by the state's legislature in April and signed by the governor shortly after, gained substantial support from the state’s seafood sector following a high-profile seafood mislabeling scandal in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Last year, local seafood restaurant Mary Mahoney’s Old French House pled guilty to selling imported fish as locally sourced product. The incident was part of a long-running operation conducted by wholesaler Quality Poultry and Seafood, which swapped in imported replacements for local seafood for years before being caught. Both the restaurant and the wholesaler have been fined, while QPS was recently handed a five-year ban from importing seafood.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance has also increased public pressure on state lawmakers to take action on imported shrimp, which it claims is often presented as a domestic product. The alliance has partnered with Houston, Texas, U.S.A.-based SEAD Consulting to conduct DNA sampling on shrimp samples taken from restaurants and vendors all along the Gulf Coast, with testing showing many establishments selling foreign shrimp. In December, SeaD Consulting announced that testing in Mississippi found that 39 percent of restaurants were selling imported shrimp, not the locally caught Gulf white shrimp they were advertising.
“Despite heavy marketing that emphasizes ‘fresh local seafood,’ many restaurants are substituting authentic Gulf shrimp with cheaper, imported alternatives,” SeaD Consulting said at the time. "The results are a wake-up call for consumers who are paying for one thing but receiving another.”
Amid those growing concerns over the prevalence of mislabeled foreign seafood along the Gulf Coast, lawmakers in Southern states are increasingly looking to introduce or expand seafood labeling laws. In addition to Mississippi, Texas recently passed a seafood labeling law, while Georgia lawmakers considered a bill earlier this year. Last year, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a notice warning that U.S. consumers are frequently misled into believing that the seafood they buy is local, even when it is a foreign import.
