Have you ever ordered catfish at a restaurant?  You probably assumed you were getting a southern freshwater fish, commonly breaded and fried to a golden brown.  In turns out there's a good chance you were eating a similar whitefish from Vietnam or China.  These imported catfish are not currently subject to the same food safety standards as U.S. catfish.  Can you ask Secretary Vilsack to hold these imported fish to the same high food safety standards?

Last summer, when Congress passed the Farm Bill, it included a measure that created a new inspection program specifically for catfish at USDA.  The department under Secretary Vilsack is working right now to design that new inspection program, and we hear that they are under pressure from China, Vietnam, and seafood importers to let some imported catfish escape the reach of this new program.

Considering that the Food and Drug Administration has previously blocked farmed catfish from China because of widespread contamination and dangerous chemical residues, we need to make sure there are high standards for these commonly imported farmed fish. Now's our chance, but only if USDA does the right thing when it's writing the rules.

While there's some confusion around what's allowed to be called catfish, the bottom line is, if it's marketed as catfish, it should be subject to inspection.  Please ask Secretary Vilsack to include all the species of fish that restaurants and other sellers commonly market as catfish in the new inspection program.