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 choices about food origin.

Petrie cited statistics during his remarks, saying Americans consume about 1,300,000,000 pounds of shrimp annually and that roughly 94% of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. are imported. He also told the chamber the Food and Drug Administration inspects about 0.7% of foreign imported shrimp and that last year 81 imported shrimp shipments were returned because of antibiotics detected, remarks he used to argue the public has a right to know origin. The bill’s caption refers to amendments to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated relating to food-service establishments.

Questioners pressed the sponsor on public-health outcomes and scope. Representative Jasmine Clark asked whether the sponsor knew of people getting sick from imported shrimp; Petrie answered, "No... I cannot say that anybody's getting sick," but reiterated his argument that imported shrimp may contain substances not allowed in domestic products and that transparency is warranted. Other members from coastal districts stressed distinctions between farm-raised and wild-caught shrimp and urged that any future changes also note production method. Representative Carter said she would support the bill but urged the Senate to consider adding language distinguishing farm-raised from wild-caught product. Representative Al Williams, a longtime coastal lawmaker, recounted local experience and urged members to remember the economic harm imports have done to some Georgia shrimpers.

The bill drew extensive floor debate and several questions from members representing coastal districts and agriculture and consumer-affairs interests. After adoption of a committee substitute and a floor vote, the clerk announced the final tally: yeas 165, nays 7. The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.

Votes and formal action: House Bill 117 passed the House 165–7. No amendments were recorded on the floor.

Context and next steps: The measure requires menu disclosure of imported shrimp; it does not itself impose tariffs or change import inspections. Implementation and enforcement details would be developed if the Senate approves and the governor signs the bill.