Imported Seafood Rejections Skyrocket

Chinese Catfish, Shrimp Are Prime Culprits

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused nearly as many seafood imports because of veterinary drug contamination in the first four months of 2007 as it did during the entire year of 2006, according to an analysis by Food & Water Watch, a consumer advocacy group. Of those shipments refused entry into the U.S. so far this year, 69 percent -- most of it catfish and shrimp -- were from China.

The imports were rejected because they contained drugs used in overseas fish farming that are considered unsafe and not approved for use in the U.S.

"(D)rugs like flouroquinolones ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin are routinely used in fish farm operations in Asia," according to a news release from Food & Water Watch. "These drug residues could result in life-threatening allergic reactions and may encourage development of drug-resistant bacteria."

"A ban on Chinese food imports to the United States should be implemented until the safety of U.S. consumers can be guaranteed," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "The current crisis demonstrates that all shipments of food items from China should be inspected and tested."

Currently, according to Food & Water Watch, the FDA inspects barely 1 percent of all seafood imports. Under an amendment passed this week by the U.S. Senate, the FDA would get greater authority to inspect imported seafood for safety. The legislation has yet to be approved by the House of Representatives.

The Congressional action comes in the wake of recent bans on Chinese catfish passed by the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

The Food & Water Watch analysis found that 113 veterinary drug-containing seafood imports had been refused in January through April of this year, compared to 125 refusals for all of 2006. Of the refusals reported in the first four months of 2007, 78 were imports from China, including 29 refused shipments of Chinese catfish and 22 refused shipments of Chinese shrimp.