Georgia House approves bill requiring restaurants to label imported shrimp

The Georgia House on Feb. 19 passed House Bill 117, a measure requiring commercial food-service establishments to identify on menus when shrimp are imported, by a vote of 165–7. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Peter Petrie, told colleagues the change is a consumer-transparency measure intended to let diners know whether the shrimp they buy came from foreign sources.

Supporters said the labeling will give consumers more information and could help Georgia’s commercial and wild shrimp fishery. "Consumers can eat shrimp from anywhere they want," Petrie said during debate, "but I want consumers to know what they're eating." He described the measure as noncoercive and voluntary for consumers while aiming to inform…