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Labeling Non-Local Food by Law


TAPrice

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In the Louisiana legislative session that just started, House Bill 266 proposes that any restaurant or establish selling crawfish imported from abroad must notify customers of the country of origin. I've got no idea if this will pass, and it might be in a very different form by the time it does (there is talk of including shrimp).

If you want to see the bill as currently proposed, click on this pdf.

Do any other states have similar labeling laws?

Do people think this is a good idea? Will it unfairly penalize restaurants and vendors who don't use local? Do customers have a right to know?

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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Most Louisianans would assume crawfish are local unless told otherwise, wouldn't they? I hear tell that that ain't necessarily so, making such assumptions not only wrong but a violation of the unstated pact between purveyor or restaurant and eater concerning very important foods.

So who and what is this being aimed at? I can imagine the same sorts of rules being proposed here in RI about quahogs, for example, though not about duck (or crawfish). I can also imagine that, what with the local labeling craze on high-end menus and in high-end stores, the sorts of people who care about where their food came from already know when they're eating farmed Thai shrimp -- or refuse to eat the things for that reason.

Todd, when you're in a typical grocery store or mom & pop restaurant, is it easy to know whether you're buying wild gulf seafood versus farmed seafood from the other side of the globe? Does that change depending on where you're shopping or eating?

Chris Amirault

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Most Louisianans would assume crawfish are local unless told otherwise, wouldn't they?

I don't know about that. The flood of cheap Chinese imports a few decades ago was well documented. People know how much cheaper the imports are. Maybe they assume some restaurants are using them. I just don't know how aware the average consumer is today.

So who and what is this being aimed at?

I spoke to the author's legislative aide this morning. She said it was aimed at informing consumers at restaurants, although as written it also applies to festivals.

I can also imagine that, what with the local labeling craze on high-end menus and in high-end stores, the sorts of people who care about where their food came from already know when they're eating farmed Thai shrimp -- or refuse to eat the things for that reason.

I think it's fair to say that in Louisiana the concern with origin of seafood isn't confined to high-end consumers. We're also talking about a rather large industry in the state.

Todd, when you're in a typical grocery store or mom & pop restaurant, is it easy to know whether you're buying wild gulf seafood versus farmed seafood from the other side of the globe? Does that change depending on where you're shopping or eating?

When buying from a retail seafood store, yes it's easy to tell. Live crawfish, which are used for boils, are always local. The pre-peeled and packaged tails that are most commonly used for cooking dishes have to be labeled for retail sale.

In a mom and pop restaurant, or any restaurant, it would be hard to know. Perhaps nearly impossible.

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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In a mom and pop restaurant, or any restaurant, it would be hard to know. Perhaps nearly impossible

I asked at a small Italian restaurant if their salmon special was fresh.

"Yes, it is", was the reply.

"Is it farmed or wild?"

"I'll ask the chef."

She came back and said, "The chef says the salmon is from the ocean."

Huh? :huh:

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I'm curious about the crawfish question. Is it that the locals would like to get a higher price for their crawfish and are being undercut by Chinese crawfish, or that they would like to sell more of the stuff? I'm just thinking that, if it weren't for the Chinese imports, might it be the case that locals would be overharvesting?

--

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I'm curious about the crawfish question.  Is it that the locals would like to get a higher price for their crawfish and are being undercut by Chinese crawfish, or that they would like to sell more of the stuff?  I'm just thinking that, if it weren't for the Chinese imports, might it be the case that locals would be overharvesting?

The issue of supply is complicated. My sense is that they would like to sell more and believe that the local product is superior. If consumers don't know when they're eating local, then it's hard to market the local product at a premium (it will never be as cheap as the Chinese).

While there is some wild harvesting, there is also a significant amount of aquaculture (I don't know the breakdown between the two). In Louisiana, farming crawfish is an environmentally sound practice (the don't take feed, the often are harvested on flooded rice fields). Outside of Louisiana, farming is an environmental hazard. The Louisiana red swamp crawfish, the species farmed almost everywhere in the world, is invasive and can destroy other species and their food sources when they escape. No big deal in Louisiana, where they're part of the ecosystem. I haven't heard much about damage to China, but the red swamp crawfish has had a really bad impact on Spain.

Edit: Here is a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch on the environmental issues.

Edited by TAPrice (log)

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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This sounds like the LA law is going one step further then the federal country of origin labeling law. The federal law covers unprepared retail but does not extend to prepared food (even uncooked but prepared for cooking -- marinated, kabobs, etc) or to restaurants. At the time the federal law passed, it was considered too burdensome and their were questions about responsibility for accuracy of the information. It was envisioned that after the marketplace got used to providing the information through regular retail chains it could be extended to outlets such as restaurants. This was partly in reaction to mislabeled foods, the growth of eating local popularity, and the complexities of not being able to label wild caught seafood as organic but still wanting comparable health and environmental info about the catch that location, and implied catch methods, provide.

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CA law requires that all food sold at a farmer's market be grown in CA, and they inspect. I remain very fond of that law as a consumer.

As a small child, I remember how local consumers pressured the Broad Street Market greengrocers into labeling produce according to origin. PA is a big agricultural state and many shoppers wanted to support local foods. As I got older, it was much more common for supermarkets to do the same. And the local shops always wanted to be able to say that meats were grown and processed locally.

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This sounds like the LA law is going one step further then the federal country of origin labeling law.

....

The federal law covers unprepared retail but does not extend to prepared food (even uncooked but prepared for cooking -- marinated, kabobs, etc) or to restaurants.  At the time the federal law passed, it was considered too burdensome and their were questions about responsibility for accuracy of the information.  It was envisioned that after the marketplace got used to providing the information through regular retail chains it could be extended to outlets such as restaurants.

Has there ever been a move towards this labeling of food origin of restaurant ingredients at the national level? If that was the original plan, how did it get derailed?

Todd A. Price aka "TAPrice"

Homepage and writings; A Frolic of My Own (personal blog)

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