Georgia has become the latest state to require restaurants to disclose when they are serving imported shrimp.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) stated that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill (HB) 117 into law on May 6, requiring food service establishments serving imported shrimp to clearly notify customers through menu labels or placards visible to the public.
Under the new law, restaurants serving imported shrimp must either label individual menu items with the phrase “foreign imported” or display signage stating “foreign imported shrimp.” The requirement does not apply to food establishments operated by state agencies.
With HB’s enactment, Georgia becomes the first East Coast state to adopt shrimp transparency legislation similar to laws already passed in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Industry advocates say the measures are designed to combat misleading marketing practices involving imported, farm-raised shrimp being sold or promoted in ways that imply a domestic origin.
“The enactment of HB 117 is a huge victory for Georgia shrimpers, who organized an effective grassroots campaign to ensure that consumers have the ability to choose U.S. wild-caught shrimp when they dine out,” said Blake Price in the SSA release.
The SSA noted several Gulf states that have strengthened their labeling laws: Alabama’s law, which took effect in October 2024, requires restaurants to disclose whether seafood is imported or domestic and whether it is farm-raised or wild-caught. Louisiana strengthened its seafood labeling rules in January 2025, while Texas adopted disclosure requirements for imported shrimp that take effect in September 2025.
Mississippi also recently updated its seafood transparency law through HB 1466, which became effective in July 2026 and expands country-of-origin disclosure requirements for seafood and crawfish products.
Similar legislation continues to advance in South Carolina. HB 4248 passed unanimously through both chambers and state legislation after amendments narrowed the disclosure requirements to raw shrimp sales.
