The House Health Committee approved a bill by State Rep. Chip Brown (R-Hollinger's Island) to strengthen a seafood labeling law. In Alabama, restaurants must disclose the country of origin for certain seafood to customers.
Brown said he has noticed some restaurants are finding loopholes.
"The intent is to let people know if there are shrimp, crabs, fish, oysters, if they're from outside the United States, inside the United States, if they are farm-raised or if they're wild-caught," Brown told the House Committee on Health. "And we've had that out there for over a year now, and we've found little problems and loopholes that exist in almost every piece of legislation. This is an effort to address those and make it more accountable in restaurants and allow people to actually know what's going on in the restaurants."
House Bill 444 (HB444) would authorize the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries to perform random DNA tests to ensure compliance. Restaurants in violation would lose five inspection points, and the State Health Officer would be required to post those results online.
DNA testing from companies such as SeaD Consulting can determine the origin of shrimp.
State Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) said his constituents have concerns about the bill on behalf of hotel and restaurant groups in the Birmingham and Shelby County areas.
"The Hotel and Restaurant Association here in Alabama is not supporting this process, because they're saying to us that, obviously, with the federal process, say that salmon that's harvested in Washington state, a lot of it can get sent to Canada for processing and then come back into the United States," Mooney said. "And how federal law works is that when it goes from country A to country B and then it comes back to country A, it shows it came from country B."
Mooney said the groups opposing the bill are a real concern. The National Restaurant Association is also opposing the bill. Brown said he wants to know where his food comes from, and he has made concessions by removing a requirement for a sign and removing a requirement for labels on mixed seafood dishes.
"You know, at the end of the day, when we passed this original bill, I made some good concessions, I talked to the restaurant people and hospitality people," Brown said. "I like working with them."
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every day or become a member to gain access to exclusive content and 1819 News merch.
