May 7, 2015 — If you’re in a supermarket and see a product labeled “Alaska Pollock,” it could well be Russian-caught pollock. And the FDA considers that perfectly legal. U.S. senators Lisa Murkowski, and Maria Cantwell of Washington, are urging the Food and Drug Administration to change that practice.
At a Senate hearing yesterday on seafood issues, Cantwell had a simple question for an FDA witness: “Do you agree that the term ‘Alaska pollock’ would give consumers the impression that the product is from Alaska?”
Steven Solomon, the FDA’s deputy associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, didn’t answer directly.
But on the FDA’s official “seafood list,” the acceptable market name for the fish is either “pollock” or “Alaska pollock.” Same thing, says the FDA.