Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee released the report along with the Food & Water Watch and the Catfish Farmers of America. Lincoln has been outspoken for quite some time about USDA's delay in implementing a catfish inspection rule which was part of the 2008 Farm Bill.
The proposed rule would shift jurisdiction from the FDA to the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which many catfish producers and Lincoln favor because FSIS (a part of USDA) has more stringent inspection and safety requirements. The proposed rule, however, has not been implemented, as it has stalled in the Office of Management and Budget due to concerns of the Office of the US Trade Representative.
Catfish producers in the US have voiced concerns over the safety of imported catfish and the delay of the proposed rule. To read a Delta Farm Press story on this issue from January, click here. Concerns have largely focused on the lack of inspections for imported seafood and that inspections have found Asian shipments of catfish tainted with chemicals and antibiotics.
Just two percent of imported seafood is inspected annually, according to a Delta Farm Press story, available here. Chip Morgan, executive vice-president of the Delta Council, stated that catfish should be inspected with the same level of scrutiny as beef, poultry, and pork.
To read the Food Safety News story, click here.
For the full text of the Exponent report, click here.
Posted: 07/23/2010
