Other Newspapers' Opinions: How safe is the food you eat?
Friday, September 7, 2007 10:54 AM PDT
More than 80 percent of the seafood that Americans eat comes from abroad, but the federal government’s underfunded and overwhelmed food-safety system has been especially inept at intercepting contaminated imports. This summer, for example, state regulators in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana found banned antibiotics when they tested imported seafood that had cleared U.S. ports.
While Congress needs to bolster federal food-safety agencies with more money, manpower and authority, it also needs to empower consumers with more information.
Federal law requires that seafood sold in grocery stores be labeled by its country of origin, but there is no corresponding requirement for fish served in restaurants. Congress has a good opportunity to begin moving in that direction by passing a bill that would require country-of-origin labeling for restaurant catfish.
It makes sense to start with catfish, because most of it is consumed in restaurants. Despite its reputation as an American fish, a third of the U.S. catfish supply comes from overseas. Much of it is from China, where polluted conditions lead many fish farmers to use antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals banned in the U.S. Labeling catfish in restaurants will better protect consumers and send a strong signal to fish farmers to clean up their act. Those benefits outweigh whatever cost or complications labeling presents.
Federal agencies need to do a much better job screening seafood and other imports. Meanwhile, consumers need all the tools they can get to protect themselves.
— The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel
Shae wrote on Apr 21, 2009 11:57 AM: