Editorial: No bones about it, catfish labeling bill must pass

By: Editorial | Opelika Auburn News
Published: April 22, 2009

People deserve the right to know the origin of their food. To keep this information hidden from consumers is a shame.

One would think potential consumers would be more likely to purchase a product if they knew where it came from, particularly food.

That’s why House Bill 473, a proposed federal law otherwise known as the catfish-labeling bill, deserves attention in Congress.

Catfish isn’t a nationwide delicacy, but in hundreds of restaurants across the South, it’s a signature dish.

Fried catfish and hushpuppies are part of Southern culture. That said, it makes more sense for Southern restaurants to use catfish bred in the United States, particularly the South, and not from an overseas nation that does not police the products it distributes as well as agencies do in America.

Public health and safety requirements are much different for catfish raised right here in Alabama than they are in China or Vietnam, other major distributors of catfish.

It is feared that catfish imported from overseas, primarily China, are contaminated with melamine, a toxic substance that has been known to cause cancer and reproductive damage in its consumers.

The catfish-labeling bill would apply to catfish only.

All restaurants need to do is identify the nationality of the catfish served. One would think that restaurants would proudly promote that they are serving catfish raised in the U.S.

If they continue to serve catfish raised overseas, that must be made known too.

It might also inspire some restaurants to serve catfish raised nationally rather than what some may perceive as an inferior international product.

The catfish industry is big throughout the South, including Alabama, which ranks second nationally in catfish production.

This state has an estimated 22,000 acres of federally regulated fresh water devoted to catfish farming. In fact, catfish account for $500 million of the state’s economy — the fifth-largest commodity in Alabama.

That’s another reason why the fate of this bill is important.

House Bill 473 is a no-lose proposition for the state of Alabama and catfish consumers everywhere.

Its passage could give the industry a boost, and give consumers vital information they need before ordering their next entrée.