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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Seafood produced in the United States is tested more rigorously and is held to higher standards than seafood from any other nation in the world, according to Kentucky aquaculture experts.
Most seafood sold in the United States, such as fish fillets, whole fish and shrimp tails, now must bear a label stating its country of origin and whether it was wild-caught or farm-raised. Fish and shellfish that are ingredients in a processed food item, such as fish sticks and other value-added products containing seafood, are not required to have a country-of-origin label. Seafood is the only food covered by these types of regulations.
Dr. James Tidwell, chairman of the Kentucky State University Division of Aquaculture, said some seafood exporting countries have enacted more stringent processing and environmental regulations, but others still have relatively lax standards. “Their production costs are much less than ours, not just because their labor costs are lower, but because their bar is set much lower than ours on processing and environmental regulations,” he said.
Seafood that is imported into the United States is required to meet American restrictions on carcinogens, but less than 1 percent of all seafood that comes into the country is tested, said Angela Caporelli, aquaculture coordinator and marketing specialist with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. Some inputs, such as antibiotics, are difficult or impossible to detect in tests, Caporelli and Tidwell said. Yet American producers must abide by federal restrictions on antibiotics, hormones and chemical additives in feed and growout procedures.
Numerous government agencies regulate seafood and seafood production in the United States to ensure that seafood and aquaculture products are fed approved feeds, raised in approved waters, have not been contaminated with toxic substances, do not create an environmental risk and do not harm wild fish.
Imported seafood travels for days or even weeks from harvest to the grocery store shelf or restaurant plate. Large bulk commodities of seafood used in low-end products such as fish sticks are frozen and may travel for months, Tidwell said.
“All fish are more susceptible to deterioration, even when it’s frozen, than any other meat product,” Tidwell said. He said the omega-3 unsaturated fats that make fish a heart-healthy food also renders it vulnerable to oxidation, which over time results in freezer burn and poor quality.
The United States imports about three-fourths of all the seafood that Americans consume, Tidwell pointed out, accounting for billions of dollars in the U.S. trade deficit. In Kentucky, less than 4 percent of the seafood consumed is produced within the Commonwealth, according to the KSU aquaculture program’s Web site. On the other hand, more Americans want to buy food produced locally and want to know where their food comes from, Tidwell said.
The International Food Policy Research Institute and the WorldFish Center issued a report in late 2003 that predicted that aquaculture production worldwide will nearly double over the next 20 years and developing countries will account for 79 percent of world production by that time. The report warned that the explosion of aquaculture in the developing world could increase pollution and the use of scarce water and land resources and could threaten already-stressed wild fisheries.
Developing aquaculture locally will be strategic and sustainable and will not threaten wild fisheries or resources but will enhance Kentucky’s agriculture industry and give Kentucky consumers more choices, Caporelli said.
Many Kentucky aquaculture products also are marked with the Kentucky Proud logo. This symbol tells consumers the product was raised and/or processed in Kentucky, traveled a short distance from the farm to the store or restaurant and supports Kentucky’s economy.
For more information on Kentucky Proud, go to www.kyproud.com. For more information on Kentucky aquaculture, go to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Web site at www.kyagr.com and click on Aquaculture on the pull-down menu. Information on Kentucky State University’s aquaculture program is available at www.ksuaquaculture.org.
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