March 19 press release from Sen. Mark Pryor

WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Senator Mark Pryor today said an alarming report released this week about the safety of imported seafood underscores the need to enhance seafood oversight and inspections.

“Arkansas catfish farmers go to great lengths to ensure that the catfish we enjoy at the dinner table is safe and affordable,” Pryor said. “This report confirms that foreign producers are not as careful and it underscores the need to step up our standards and inspections of foreign seafood.”

Pryor said the report, Seafood Safety: FDA Needs to Improve Oversight of Imported Seafood and Better Leverage Limited Resources, criticizes the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) efforts to adequately inspect imported seafood. It cites weak inspection techniques, such as reviewing records instead of visiting foreign aquaculture farms or laboratories to ensure that U.S. safety standards are met. Additionally, it said the FDA does not generally test for drugs that can cause cancer and antibiotic resistance. In 2009, the FDA tested only about 0.1% of all imported seafood products for drug residues.

Pryor believes the GAO findings underscore the need to move forward with a requirement in the 2008 Farm Bill that moves catfish inspection from FDA to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA is currently undergoing the rulemaking process and will determine whether or not all catfish undergo USDA’s food safety inspection procedures. Pryor is encouraging growers and consumers to comment on the proposed rule before June 24th.

“Rigorous inspections for all catfish, domestic and imported, should meet the highest safety standards. It is my hope USDA will side with consumers and make safety its highest priority,” Pryor said.