BATON ROUGE, La. — New rules requiring Louisiana restaurants to label if they serve foreign shrimp or crawfish are now in effect.
The law went into effect on September 1 and requires that restaurants in the state let customers know if their seafood is imported.
Notices must be printed on the menu immediately adjacent to seafood item's menu listing and must be the same font, size and shade as the item listed on the menu.
The notices can also be paper-clipped to the menu with the same location, font and shade restrictions required by menu labeling.
Restaurants must also post a sign at the main entrance to the business that states "Certain crawfish and shrimp originate from a foreign country.” The sign must be at least 18 inches wide and written in English. The lettering must not be less than 1 inch in size and must be posted in a conspicuous location not less than 36 inches from the floor.
The measure sailed through the Legislature with unanimous support and strong backing from Louisiana's seafood industry, which has criticized foreign imports. It was later signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Rep. Jerry "Truck" Gisclair, a Lafourche Parish Democrat, described his bill as addressing health concerns. He says too little testing is done on shrimp or crawfish entering the United States from countries like China and Vietnam.
The American Shrimp Processors Association praised the bill as a victory for consumer transparency.
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