New genetic testing of shrimp dishes at Baton Rouge restaurants found imported, farm-raised shrimp were still being represented to customers as American wild-caught, according to results released by SeaD Consulting on behalf of the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
The follow-up testing comes as Louisiana’s shrimp season gets underway and domestic producers continue to face competition from lower-priced imported shrimp.
SeaD tested 22 shrimp dishes during its latest round in Baton Rouge. Sixteen, or 73 percent, were identified as American wild-caught shrimp, while six, or 27 percent, were imported farm-raised shrimp that investigators said were explicitly represented as American wild-caught.
The results follow testing conducted in April, when 30 of 44 dishes, or 68 percent, were identified as American wild-caught and nine, or 21 percent, were imported or farm-raised shrimp that investigators said were misrepresented. SeaD said that although the percentage of dishes containing American wild-caught shrimp increased in the latest sample, the rate of explicit misrepresentation also increased from 21 percent to 27 percent.
Louisiana law allows restaurants serving imported seafood to display a notice stating that some items “may contain imported seafood” and directing customers to ask for more information. According to SeaD, half of the restaurants where imported shrimp were identified had the required notice posted, but staff still told investigators the shrimp was American wild-caught. The other half did not have the required disclosure signage.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance and Louisiana shrimp industry representatives are calling for additional genetic testing of shrimp served at restaurants. SeaD cited an earlier study conducted on behalf of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force that estimated misrepresentation of imported shrimp results in roughly $225,000 in daily losses to the domestic industry.
“If a restaurant indicates that the shrimp is from American fishermen, then it should not be imported or farm-raised,” said Lance Nacio, owner of Anna Marie Shrimp and a Southern Shrimp Alliance board member. “Louisiana has been a leader in enabling consumers to make an informed choice, but more needs to be done to ensure dollars spent on our shrimp ultimately benefit our family businesses and not dishonest suppliers.”
The release also pointed to a new Louisiana law aimed at another part of the seafood supply chain. House Bill 857 requires commingled imported and domestic seafood to be labeled transparently and adds penalties for processors or distributors that label imported or commingled seafood as domestic.
The latest testing did show some improvement. Two restaurants that SeaD said had served imported farm-raised shrimp during the previous testing round were found to be serving American wild-caught shrimp during the follow-up.
