Change moves slow, like a glacier. However, when we are speaking of changes in the laws that govern how you earn your living then you need to be less like a glacier and more like a bunny. I guess that's the message that those tasked with enforcing Louisiana's recently passed country of origin seafood laws are implying.

After almost a month of being on the books more than 150 restaurants across the state were found to be in violation of that law. The law requires seafood establishments to display either inside the restaurant or on the restaurant menu the country of origin for shrimp and crawfish used in the establishment's recipes.

The highest concentration of restaurants that were not in compliance with the legislation was located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. There were no violations reported in Lafayette Parish, however, a couple of Acadiana area business were noted to be in violation of the law. In the Lake Charles area, there were at least a dozen establishments found to be out of compliance with the food labeling law.

The Louisiana Department of Health conducted inspections of 3,200 restaurants between the first of September and September 27th. Many of the restauranteurs accused of violating the state's new seafood labeling law say they usually serve locally sourced seafood. However, seasonal supply and demand sometimes make that impossible.

One restauranteur says he was cited for simply having a package of Chinese crawfish on the premises as a backup in case the business ran short of its supply of Louisiana sourced seafood. By the way, violating the seafood labeling law is not considered a critical offense and there is no fine associated with just one violation.

However, numerous violations could result in fines or more detailed inspections of the business in question. So, there is a reason for establishments to work within the framework of the law. Besides, Louisiana seafood is so much better than that imported stuff. Why would you even want to put that not homegrown stuff in your mouth?

 

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