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Did You Know?

Did You Know?FDA States that "White Roughy" not Acceptable Market Name for Basa. NFI received a letter from FDA this past week clarifying the agency's policy for the use of the term "white roughy" for basa fish.

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Did You Know?

basa fish and roughy

White Roughy is not an acceptable Market Name for Basa

In a letter to NFI, FDA clarified the agency’s policy for the use of the term “white roughy” for basa. FDA believes that marketing basa or any other fish in the Pangasiidae family as “white roughy” is misleading to the consumer. Fish known as “roughies” such as “orange roughy” are classified differently from Basa and command a higher value in the marketplace. Misleading fish names violate the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

In The News

Government Actions

Tampa Company and Its President Sentenced for Mislabeling Shrimp

The Department of Justice announced the sentencing of Adrian Vela and Sea Food Center, LLC., both of Tampa, Florida, on charges that they conspired to mislabel shrimp. The two had previously pled guilty to a nine-count Criminal Information, which charged them with conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act by false labeling of less marketable substituted seafood product, “Shrimp, Product of Thailand,” “Shrimp, Product of Malaysia,” and “Shrimp, Product of Indonesia,” which was misbranded, marketed, and intended to be marketed as “Shrimp, Product of Panama.” This conspiracy involved more than 500,000 pounds of shrimp, with a retail value of between $400,000 and $750,000.

Mr. Vela was sentenced to three (3) years of probation. Sea Food Center was sentenced to one year of probation, a $15,000 fine and $1,200 special assessment.

Seafood Wholesaler Sentenced for False Labeling of Fish

The Department of Justice announced the sentencing of Thomas Katz of Burlington, Massachusetts and Universal Group Inc. for purchasing and selling falsely labeled fish.  Mr. Katz was sentenced to one year probation and three months home detention and fined $75,000.  Universal Groups was sentenced to three years probation and fined $75,000.  In May 2010, Mr. Katz pled guilty to one felony violation and one misdemeanor violation of the Lacey Act.

Seafood Wholesaler Owners Sentenced for Selling Falsely Labeled Fish, Smuggling and Misbranding of Seafood Products

The Department of Justice announces the sentencing of Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively.   The pair was also fined $5,000 each, and barred for three years from working in the seafood industry or owning any seafood related business.  Blyth and Phelps had been convicted in January 2011 of 13 felony offenses for their roles in purchasing and selling farm-raised Asian catfish and Lake Victoria perch falsely labeled as grouper, selling foreign farm-raised shrimp falsely labeled as U.S. wild caught shrimp, selling shrimp they falsely claimed to be larger, more expensive shrimp than they actually were, and for buying fish they knew had been illegally imported into the United States.   

“These significant sentences are appropriate penalties for Blyth and Phelps, who committed multiple felonies in conspiring to scam consumers with falsely labeled, cheaper fish substitutes from Asia and Africa,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.   “Their fraudulent scheme artificially deflated the cost of wild-caught fish, and gave them an unacceptable economic advantage over law abiding fisherman.”

“These prosecutions and the sentences that were imposed today should send a clear message that instances of consumer fraud will not be tolerated and that this U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively protect local seafood consumers and all components of the local seafood market and industry,” said Kenyen R. Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama.

FDA Describes Potential Hazards Associated with Species Substitution

Today FDA released the 4th edition of the Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance document (Hazards Guide).  Newly added to the guidance is confirmation that misidentification of species (i.e., species substitution) could result in a potential food safety hazard.  Chapter Three of the Hazards Guide lists the potential species-related and process-related hazards in table format and includes the following information on species substitution. 

Species substitution

Illicit substitution of one species for another may constitute economic fraud and/or misbranding violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.  Furthermore, species substitution may cause potential food safety hazards to be overlooked or misidentified by processors or end users, as shown in Table 3-1, “The Effect of Misbranding Through Species Substitution on the Identification of Potential Species-Related Hazards.”  These examples are based on actual incidents of species substitution or misbranding.

Table 3-1

THE EFFECT OF MISBRANDING THROUGH SPECIES SUBSTITUTION ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL SPECIES-RELATED HAZARDS 

ACTUAL MARKET NAME OF PRODUCT

POTENTIAL SPECIES- RELATED HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACTUAL PRODUCT (FROM TABLE 3-2)

PRODUCT INAPPROPRIATELY LABELED AS

POTENTIAL SPECIES-RELATED HAZARDS THAT WOULD BE IDENTIFIED BASED ON INAPPROPRIATE SPECIES LABELING (FROM TABLE 3-2)

Escolar

Gempylotoxin Histamine

Sea bass

Parasites

Puffer fish

Tetrodotoxin Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning

Monkfish

Parasites

Spanish mackerel

Parasites Histamine Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

Kingfish

None

Basa

Environmental chemical contaminants and pesticides

Grouper

Parasites Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

Grouper

Parasites Ciguatera Fish Poisoning

Cod

Parasites

 

Florida Seafood Company and Its President Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Mislabel Shrimp

The Justice Department, along with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, announced the guilty plea by Richard Stowell, of St. Pete Beach, Florida, and United Seafood Imports, Inc., a firm located in St. Petersburg, Florida, to a twenty-four count Information, charging them with conspiring to commit violations of the Lacey Act and Food Drug and Cosmetics Act.

According to Court documents and statements made at the hearing, Stowell, who was the majority shareholder in United, in concert with Shifco, Inc. (Shifco), conspired to violate the Lacey Act and the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act by mislabeling and selling approximately one million pounds of shrimp. To execute the scheme, less marketable shrimp from Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia was misbranded and marketed as shrimp coming from Panama, Ecuador, and Honduras. According to documents in the Court file, the mislabeled shrimp, valued at between $400,000 and $1,000,000, was ultimately sold to supermarkets in the northeastern United States.

Sentencing for both Stowell and United is scheduled for July 15, 2011 before U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro. Shifco previously pled guilty on January 11, 2011, to related Lacey Act violations, and was sentenced on March 25, 2011.

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