Shrimp mislabeling investigation ramps up

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is looking into allegations that U.S. Gulf shrimp processors are mislabeling imported farmed product as domestic wild product and commingling shrimp. But the agency on Wednesday was unable to provide much in the way of details to the ongoing investigation.

The OLE has executed search warrants at multiple shrimp processing plants in several Gulf Coast states, confiscating product and records, James Kejonen, a special agent in the OLE’s Slidell, La., office, told SeafoodSource. The investigation has been ongoing for several months, he added.

With the help of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the OLE is acting on tips, and the more search warrants it executes the more information it finds leading it to other shrimp processing plants, said Kejonen.

“We’re always concerned with mislabeling, and when it’s brought to our attention we take it seriously and investigate it,” said Kejonen.

DoRan Sea-Pak in Hammond, La., was among the plants the OLE searched, owner Randy Pearce told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He said he heard that five other plants had been searched. DoRan repacks shrimp for other companies, and Pearce said the agents were seeking records about some of those companies.

“It’s way too early in the investigation [to determine] whether anyone will be indicted,” said Kejonen.

The Better Seafood Board (BSB), formed in 2007 by National Fisheries Institute members as a mechanism to report fraud, is not involved in the investigation, said NFI spokesman Gavin Gibbons. The BSB works with federal agencies to draw attention to mislabeling, short weighting and other forms of fraud common to the seafood trade.

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