Country of origin subversion
The American consumer is aware that imported shrimp may contain banned antibiotics, other supplements and have sanitary issues, therefore they are turning to local sources including seafood sourced from American fisheries. Regulations have been put in place to subvert seafood retailers putting shrimp into the marketplace that is known to originate from areas that use growth enhancers and may have sanitary issues as well. In an effort to address this issue the USDA requires all shrimp in the United States to say the country of origin (or COO) on the package. Nevertheless, seafood regulations, including those for shrimp are being subverted. A study “Entitled Are these shrimp actually local? Falsely labeled seafood coming to forefront in North Carolina”. Points out a third of the shrimp marked as harvested from North Carolina waters likely was farm raised in a foreign country with fewer laws and oversight. It also highlights a practice where companies falsely label foreign seafood as local to sell at higher prices, double the amount in some cases.
North Carolina and other American consumers are being defrauded, they prefer local seafood, what are they getting?
Are these shrimp actually local? Falsely labeled seafood coming to forefront in North Carolina.
Where is this Shrimp From? Now You’ll Know
Lack of trace-back is a real issue that underlies SIMP. Imported shrimp, produced or processed under dubious circumstances undercuts domestic shrimp. Louisiana House Bill 335, was passed and signed into law June 19, in an attempt to inform consumers with respect to shrimp origin
The next time you sit down to a shrimp po-boy or some crawfish étouffée in a Louisiana restaurant, you have the right to know if the seafood you’re eating is imported. Louisiana House Bill 335, passed and signed into law June 19, mandates that restaurants serving foreign shrimp or crawfish reveal this information to consumers by posting it on their menus. In the absence of menus, a restaurant must post it on visible signage.
Strong push by five countries helped keep US shrimp imports rolling in May
Y-O-Y importation of shrimp by the USA continues at a record pace such that it will likely reach 700,000 MT by the end of the year. Nevertheless, there are some interesting aspects. Example, The biggest beneficiary of Ecuador’s production surge has been China, not the US. Ecuador sent the communist nation 27,537t of shrimp in May, up 114% y-o-y. And, China sent the US 1,902t of shrimp worth $10.6m in May, a decrease in volume of 39% and a decrease in value of 52%. During the first five months of the year, China has sent the US 7,605t of shrimp, 54% less than the first five months of 2018. These are effects of the trade war. Another interesting observation is imports from Malaysia. It seen its shrimp exports to the US increase 669% y-o-y from 16t in May 2018 to 123t in May 2019, according to NOAA data. Notably in the past shipments from Malaysia on scale has rejected often because of contamination.
Consumer Reports: Tests find 60 Percent of Frozen Shrimp Contaminated with Bacteria
A new Consumer Reports (CR) study released Friday found that 60 percent of 342 samples of frozen shrimp it tested contained Salmonella, Vibrio, Listeria, or E. coli, and 2 percent tested positive for the superbug MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). For its new report, “How Safe is Your Shrimp?,” CR researchers bought 284 raw and 58 cooked shrimp samples for testing last March in 27 cities across the country from retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Costco, Fry’s Marketplace, Hy-Vee and Sprouts Farmers Market. CR didn’t test fresh, never-frozen shrimp since U.S. consumers don’t buy much of that…
Shrimp containing antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in Canadian grocery stores
…….Although the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) does not allow for the use of any antibiotics in shrimp farming, the overuse of antibiotics in Asian shrimp aquaculture has some researchers concerned about the potential for antibiotic-resistant bacteria landing in Canada through imported seafood.
To test for the potential of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Marketplace bought 51 frozen shrimp products from major grocery stores in Calgary, Toronto, Saskatoon and Montreal, and sent them to a special lab at the University of Saskatchewan for analysis.
Nine of the products — or 17 per cent — were found to be carrying bacteria, such as E. coli and staph aureus, that showed resistance to at least one antibiotic……………..
Mangrove Action Project (MAP)
Question Your Shrimp.
Mangrove forests are one of the most important ecosystems on the earth, providing ready-made solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Their impact reaching far beyond where the land meets the sea. Mangroves do more proportionally than any other forest to sequester carbon – up to 5x more per hectare than tropical rainforests. They are the Mangrove forests also provide refuge and nursery grounds for juvenile fish, crabs, shrimps, mollusks, and other invertebrates. Yet mangrove forests have been classified by many governments and industries alike as “wastelands,” or useless swamps. This mistaken view has made it easier to exploit mangrove forests as cheap and unprotected sources of land and water, particularly for development of new shrimp farms.
World Day Against Child Labor Includes Shrimp
Americans take it for granted that our food chain remains unadulterated and that workers are compensated appropriately for their labor. However, the U.S. government, other governments, and human rights organizations have all documented labor abuses in the shrimp supply chain in several countries. Forced labor in shrimp production (slavery) is limited to a small number of countries, but these problem countries supply significant volumes of shrimp to the U.S. market. Most notable is Thailand.
Towards A Blue Revolution: Catalyzing Private Investment In Sustainable Aquaculture Production Systems
“The global food system is reaching a critical inflection point. Despite massive gains in scale and efficiency over the past 60 years, exemplified by the Green Revolution in agriculture, food production is surpassing the ecological limits of the planet. The bill is now coming due, with spillover effects that include biodiversity loss, freshwater scarcity, polluted watersheds and coastlines, desertification, drought, and climate change. The process of feeding 7.6 billion people accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption4and approximately 25% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the latter primarily from agriculture and deforestation.