Seafood and restaurant industries dodge a bullet as Gov. Brown vetoes California sfd labeling law
SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton - Oct 1, 2014
California Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed Senate Bill 1138, the fish and shellfish labeling law, that would have created chaos for seafood consumers.
The bill was pushed through the legislature by Oceana, who claimed that it would help combat seafood fraud. But the remedy - using the FDA common name for each species, rather than the standard market name is is now required, would have created chaos.
The bill would have required that seafood producers, seafood processors, retailers, and restaurants label their packaging and menus with the “common” name of the seafood item, as opposed to the market name developed by the Food and Drug Administration.
There are over 1850 common names for fish and shellfish sold in California. The FDA allows most similar species to be grouped under the same market name, for example "shrimp."
In discussing why this bill was so bad, Mary Smith at Santa Monica Seafood said "A waitress would need to inform a customer ordering shrimp whether the shrimp was “Kadal Shrimp” or “Marsh Grass Shrimp” or “Jinga Shrimp” or one 30 possible Common Names for specific shrimp species.
"A worker at a food truck accepting an order for a mahi fish taco...
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