NEW ORLEANS (June 27, 2005) - The U.S. Department of Commerce defended its inspection program for wild American shrimp, after a group of Louisiana shrimp processors complained one product line, Emeril’s Louisiana Shrimp, was substandard and giving a black eye to the nascent wild American shrimp industry. One of the fishermen was quoted as saying bags of Emeril shrimp contained “broken tails, some pieces and black spots.”
All are prohibited under the standards set up by Wild American Shrimp, a campaign supported by the U.S. government to make naturally raised Gulf of Mexico shrimp an alternative to imported, farmed product. In a statement attributed to the Bob Kell, the department’s consumer safety officer, "the USDC has reports and records of all Emeril’s Louisiana Shrimp that have been packed and shipped and has no knowledge of any shipments that did not meet these standards.”
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Chef2Chef News Desk