SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — October 23, 2014 — Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu has written to the head of the US customs and Border Protection to ask that they increase their inspections of Indian and other imported shrimp. In a letter last week, she said:
"A recent report indicates that the European Union (EU) has rejected 24 container shipments of shrimp from India due to the presence of excessive antibiotics. I am extremely concerned that this Indian shrimp, as well as many other containers of shrimp rejected from our trading partners with more robust health and safety standards, will simply be dumped into our market. If we do not put in place adequate health and safety rules and sufficient inspections, this could pose a significant health risk to the American public."
She cites an FAO report that says the US has higher tolerance levels for certain veterinary chemicals and antibiotics than either Canada or the EU. "More disturbing is the fact that U.S. health and safety standards for shrimp imports are lower than those imposed by other major export markets, including the EU, Japan and Canada . This is particularly problematic in instances where large volumes of shrimp are rejected from one market and may end up in another market with less vigilant inspections.
She asked the commissioner to respond with a description of their plan to combat the possible introduction of shrimp rejected in one country into the US.
This story originally appeared in SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.