April 11, 2014 — A state senate bill seeks to curb the ecological and health hazards of mislabeled seafood.
State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) last week introduced Senate Bill 1138, which would make it illegal to knowingly sell mislabeled seafood.
Padilla’s bill requires that any label of fresh, frozen, or processed fish or shellfish offered for sale must clearly identify the species by its common name.
It follows a seafood fraud investigation by the conservation group Oceana, the bill’s sponsor.
Between 2010 and 2012 the organization collected more than 1,200 seafood samples from grocery stores, restaurants, and sushi venues across 21 states to determine if they were honestly labeled.