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Senate committee advances HB117 to require restaurants to disclose imported shrimp
Summary
The committee approved a substitute for HB117 requiring food-service establishments to notify consumers when shrimp served are imported; sponsors framed the bill as consumer transparency and support for local fishermen. The substitute passed by unanimous voice vote; rules and enforcement will be set by the Department of Environmental Health.
A Senate standing committee advanced a substitute for House Bill 117 that would require restaurants and other food-service establishments to prominently disclose when shrimp they serve are imported, sponsors said.
Representative Petri, the House sponsor, told the committee the measure is aimed at consumer transparency and protecting domestic fishermen. "This bill is all about consumer transparency," he said, arguing that much shrimp consumed in the United States is imported and sometimes contains antibiotics. Petri cited recent testing and refusal figures during his presentation and said the FDA inspects a “very small” share of foreign seafood shipments.
Senators pressed sponsors on the scope of the measure, enforcement and inspection protocols. A senator asked where inspection occurs and whether foreign governments allow on-site inspection; sponsors said seized or failed shipments are typically caught at U.S. ports of entry. Petri said the FDA inspects a small percentage of imports (he cited 0.7% and referred to a figure “less than 5%” in discussion) and that a number of shipments were refused for antibiotics in 2024; he told the committee some returned shipments are later re-exported and that industry-funded DNA testing has been used locally to distinguish domestic from imported shrimp.
The substitute narrows an earlier, broader proposal (which had proposed country-of-origin labeling for a range of seafood) to focus on shrimp, after industry feedback that more expansive labeling would be burdensome for food-service operators. The measure exempts food-service operations run by state agencies, at the request of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
If HB117 becomes law, enforcement and detailed labeling standards would be developed by the state Department of Environmental Health as part of routine food-service inspections, sponsors said. Committee members asked about price impacts and unfair-trade claims; sponsors said domestic shrimp likely will command a higher price but that the bill does not restrict restaurants’ business choices. After discussion, the committee moved the substitute forward by voice vote; the chair announced the motion carries unanimously.
The committee did not record a roll-call tally. Sponsors did not provide a comprehensive estimate of the number of shipments, the total volume of imports, or a formal cost estimate; those items were discussed in qualitative terms during questioning.
