The Retail Industry Leaders Association has voiced opposition toincluding swai and basa of Vietnam and other Asian whitefish in U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) catfish inspections.
In its comments recently submitted to the USDA, the Retail IndustryLeaders Association, a trade association representing Wal-Mart and otherlarge retailers, expressed "significant concerns" that the proposedregulation would reduce supply of imported fish, driving up prices forretailers and ultimately U.S. consumers.
TimesRecord, a daily newspaper serving western Arkansas and eastern Oklahomastates of the US, quoted Stephanie Lester, Vice President ofInternational Trade for the Association, as saying, "Those offeringswould be expected to disappear from store shelves following issuance of afinal rule. The lack of available product would be expected to causeinstantaneous price increases."
The retailassociation also questioned the need for moving catfish regulation fromthe Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which handles other seafood, toUSDA, which inspects meat and poultry.
FDA andCenters for Disease Control regard catfish as a low risk to carryingsalmonella or other food borne illnesses. No salmonella cases have beenlinked to catfish since FDA began its monitoring in 1997, Lester noted.
The USDA has received more than 250 comments overthe last 90 days on a proposed regulation that would establish aninspection system for catfish that the U.S. Congress mandated in theFood, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. The public comment periodended July 1.
According to Times Report, a key issuethat has yet to be determined is whether the rule will define "catfish"to a narrow or broad range of fish. In one case, the definition wouldmirror the one that the Congress established in 2002 for marketingpurposes - limiting "catfish" to members of the "ictaluridae" family. Inthe other, it would broaden "catfish" to include members of the"siluriformes" species that would cover basa and swai imported fromVietnam and other whitefish from other Asian countries./.
In its comments recently submitted to the USDA, the Retail IndustryLeaders Association, a trade association representing Wal-Mart and otherlarge retailers, expressed "significant concerns" that the proposedregulation would reduce supply of imported fish, driving up prices forretailers and ultimately U.S. consumers.
TimesRecord, a daily newspaper serving western Arkansas and eastern Oklahomastates of the US, quoted Stephanie Lester, Vice President ofInternational Trade for the Association, as saying, "Those offeringswould be expected to disappear from store shelves following issuance of afinal rule. The lack of available product would be expected to causeinstantaneous price increases."
The retailassociation also questioned the need for moving catfish regulation fromthe Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which handles other seafood, toUSDA, which inspects meat and poultry.
FDA andCenters for Disease Control regard catfish as a low risk to carryingsalmonella or other food borne illnesses. No salmonella cases have beenlinked to catfish since FDA began its monitoring in 1997, Lester noted.
The USDA has received more than 250 comments overthe last 90 days on a proposed regulation that would establish aninspection system for catfish that the U.S. Congress mandated in theFood, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008. The public comment periodended July 1.
According to Times Report, a key issuethat has yet to be determined is whether the rule will define "catfish"to a narrow or broad range of fish. In one case, the definition wouldmirror the one that the Congress established in 2002 for marketingpurposes - limiting "catfish" to members of the "ictaluridae" family. Inthe other, it would broaden "catfish" to include members of the"siluriformes" species that would cover basa and swai imported fromVietnam and other whitefish from other Asian countries./.
