Louisiana crawfish
… from China?
In today’s global economy, the idea really isn’t that
surprising, but few Americans are aware that as much as 78 percent
of the United States’ fresh seafood supply comes from other
countries, according to Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist for the
watchdog group Environmental Defense.
Louisiana crawfish … from China?
In today’s global economy, the idea really isn’t that surprising, but few Americans are aware that as much as 78 percent of the United States’ fresh seafood supply comes from other countries, according to Rebecca Goldburg, senior scientist for the watchdog group Environmental Defense.
That awareness should change, however, as they become more aware of new labels popping up on fish products nationwide.
Country-of-origin labeling, already a requirement for produce and some other perishables sold in U.S. stores, went into effect for all fresh seafood on April 4, forcing distributors to label all fresh fish with its country of origin and whether the fish was wild or farm-raised. While the rollover hasn’t posed implementation problems for local markets, keeping up the paperwork trail behind every snapper, catfish or trout is a tedious process.
“We have to track everything,” said Chris Alvarez, second assistant in the meat department at Safeway in Hollister. Alvarez sees fish from Thailand, Indonesia, Canada, the Philippines and Vietnam on a regular basis. “Everything – every box – has to have a tracking number. If it doesn’t have a tracking number, we don’t take it.”
Alvarez’s company provided eight hours of computerized training to all meat department employees in an effort to ensure they got the process right, he said.
Under the new law, workers must make sure a fish’s tracking number follows it all the way to the register, much like a car’s vehicle identification number. Should a fish be placed out for sale without its tracking number, meat counters and grocers could face fine totals up to $10,000 per occurrence, said Alvarez.
Still, the process is good for the consumer, advocates say, because it will help buyers to understand not only where their fish supply comes from, but may help them to make more educated decisions about purchasing seafood based on contaminants and fishing practices common to different countries.
“(Country-of-origin labeling) helps consumers purchase seafood that is good for the environment and low in contaminants like mercury and PCBs,” said Tim Fitzgerald, researcher for Environmental Defense, an environmental awareness group that educates consumers on oceanic issues.
The group’s Web site, www.OceansLive.org also offers a listing of seafoods classified as best and worst for consumption.
“By identifying where seafood comes from and how it is produced, COOL allows consumers to better incorporate such information into their purchasing decisions,” Fitzgerald said.
The new law could also help retailers because the detailed documentation of a fish’s processing will help them to narrow down the number of people affected by something like a food recall notice, said Alvarez. The group most affected by the new law will be the workers and owners of small fisheries, where the generation of so many extra records could be more than tedious. It could be a labor drain, according to California Grocers Association spokesman Dave Heylen.
“The concern is that everyone upstream – the suppliers and whatnot – have to keep these very accurate records,” said Heylen. “There’s a time issue there.”
Processed or ready-to-eat seafood products, such as pre-marinated catfish, as well as seafood served in restaurants is exempt from country-of-origin labeling requirements, as specified in the original legislation on the topic, signed into effect by President Bush in 2002, according to the meat industry trade journal Cattle Network.
The law, officially titled the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, was an addendum to the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. Originally slated to debut in its entirety on Sept. 30, 2004, the United States Department of Agriculture has instead decided to stagger implementation of the process.
Labeling of seafood, much of which is imported from Asia, was finalized by the USDA in December 2004. Fresh and ground pork, beef and lamb products, excluding mutton, are all slated for labeling in the future, according to Cattle Network, which estimates that nearly half of the industry’s products will remain unlabeled thanks to an exemption in the 2002 act.
