For Immediate Release
May 24, 2011

WASHINGTON, May 24 – Food safety groups, scientists and members of Congress urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture today to enact stronger requirements for inspecting and regulating all domestic and imported catfish sold in America.

The recommendations were delivered during the first of two public hearings scheduled by the USDA to determine how the agency’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) should implement a new rule mandated by Congress to improve the inspection of catfish. USDA officials are debating whether to include all catfish under the new guidelines or only one type of catfish.

“Because one-third of all catfish consumed in the U.S. is imported, it is important for consumer health and safety that we provide the necessary tools and resources to ensure these imports meet the same quality standards as domestic products,” said U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS), one of four Senators and members of Congress who today spoke in favor of including all catfish under the new rules. “The current inspection system for catfish does not meet that responsibility.”

FDA currently has jurisdiction for catfish inspections. The Government Accountability Office has issued several reports citing deficiencies in the FDA catfish inspection program. In the most recent report released in April, GAO reported that FDA tested for banned drugs in only one-tenth of one-percent (0.1%) of all seafood imported into the United States in 2009.

The report also found that FDA violated its own regulations and tested no catfish for banned drugs from 2006 to 2009, despite designating catfish as one of its highest priority imports for inspections.

The new regulation, mandated by Congress nearly three years ago, would shift responsibility for catfish regulation from FDA to USDA which has much greater authority and capabilities to inspect and monitor catfish production and processing.

Patty Lovera, assistant Director of Food & Water Watch, a leading consumer protection group, testified, “Consumers are looking for more protection than the current system is giving them. FSIS can be much more protective of consumers than the FDA.”

The most contentious issue is whether the USDA will inspect all domestic and imported catfish or only catfish related to the U.S.-grown catfish from the Ictaluridae family. If the narrower version of the law is imposed, only nine percent of all imported catfish would be subject to the comprehensive new catfish inspection and regulation rules, according to U.S. government data.

“We are not asking imported catfish to be treated any differently than our own catfish,” said Joey Lowery, chairman of the board of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We want all catfish to be as safe as possible for the American consumer.”

Scientists and other aquaculture experts testified that foreign governments allow catfish farmers to use large numbers of antibiotics and other drugs that are banned in the United States. Health experts warn that the drugs pose long-term dangers to consumers because the drugs build up over time, preventing critical antibiotics from working when people contract life-threatening illnesses.

Dr. Carole Engle, director of the Aquaculture/Fisheries Center at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, testified that Vietnamese farms she has visited raised catfish in “raceways” using untreated river water including “all wastes, whether from human sewage, farm runoff, or discharges from factories, slaughterhouses, and cities.”

“It is important that the USDA include all catfish – those raised in the U.S. and those imported – in this regulation,” Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) said. “American consumers need confidence that every catfish served in every restaurant or sold in every grocery store is safe to eat.”

Catfish importers argued against the inspection of all catfish and accused U.S. catfish farmers of trying to keep foreign fish out the American marketplace.

“We are not opposed to imports,” said Butch Wilson, president of the Catfish Farmers of America. “We only oppose unhealthy imports. If there is an outbreak of sickness from any catfish, consumption of all catfish will go down, regardless of its point of origin. Consumers won’t understand why some catfish were regulated and not others.”

The second public hearing will be conducted from 9 a.m. to noon, Thursday, May 26, in Stoneville, Mississippi.

For more information contact:
Molly Moore
molly@sandersonstrategies.com
1-240-475-0590

Or visit www.safecatfish.com