NFI: Congress better repeal catfish program

“We’re lobbying on it, we’re educating people on the hill about it, and at this point, there’s a firestorm in the media against it, NFI Spokesman Gavin Gibbons told IntraFish. NFI has three lobbyists in Washington D.C., he said.

Currently, the FDA remains the only agency charged with inspecting catfish imports, as the USDA has put off implementing its inspection program ever since it was created as part of the 2008 Farm Bill.

If the repeal fails and the program launches, it would require as many as three agencies – the FDA, the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) and the USDA -- to inspect catfish imports into the US, and slap prohibitive requirements on pangasius importers, which would fall under the heading of catfish.

The seafood industry stands to lose out significantly, Gibbons said.

“Right off the bat, it would be pangasius importers – they would be impacted right away,” he said. “But we know that the domestic catfish importers have other species in their cross hairs, including tilapia.”

A backlash from the exporting country -- Vietnam -- is also likely. The Washington Times recently reported Vietnam has threatened a trade war over the program, and some warn the USDA inspection program meets the World Trade Organization (WTO) definition of an unfair trade barrier.

“If this program is allowed to stand, there will be many more losers than there will be winners,” Gibbons said. “A few domestic catfish suppliers benefit while the majority of the seafood community loses, and the US agriculture community loses as well.”

Among major news agencies, the most persuasive argument for repeal is fiscal responsibility.

News agencies such as Fox News, US News and World Report and The Wall Street Journal have called out the program for wasteful spending, along with an onslaught of political blogs. A Government Accountability Office report, published in March, backs up their claims. It found the program duplicates existing federal programs at a cost of $14 million (€11 million) to the government and industry.

“If FSIS’s proposed program were implemented, GAO expects it would cause duplication and inefficient use of resources in several key areas,” the report says.

Officials at the FDA and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) say the further inspections will not improve catfish safety and are counter to the use of the FDA’s hazard analysis requirements, according to the GAO report.

Salmonella was initially cited as a concern by the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as the primary food hazard in catfish, but the GAO found the agency used “outdated and limited information” as the basis for the inspection program.

The US Catfish Farmers of America issued statements in support of the bill for years, but a response to the recent media attention was absent from their website as of Wednesday.

"This is not about catfish; this is about trade," Gibbons said.