“But even more alarming … than the high rate of refusal is that the FDA has only been inspecting about 2 percent of the 5.2 billion pounds of seafood brought into the United States each year. That’s clearly unacceptable when numerous studies show that imported catfish is twice as likely to be contaminated by salmonella and that many drugs detected in imported catfish have been linked to cancer.”
Questions about the inspection of imported seafood continue to dog the USDA. Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln had the following to say during a July 22 press conference announcing the release of a study on the risks and consequences of not ramping up inspections.
“As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I’ve said loud and clear that the release Catfish Inspection Rule is long overdue. Each day the USDA delays is another day we put Americans’ health at risk — there’s no question about that.
Read the fully story in the Southeast Farm Press