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Senator Boxer: Stopping Seafood Fraud
Monday, October 15, 2012
Dear Friend:
Today I wrote the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), calling on the agency to address the alarming number of seafood fraud incidents, where fish and other seafood is being deliberately mislabeled and sold to consumers. To read more, please click here.
Seafood fraud is not only deceptive marketing, but it also poses serious health risks, especially for pregnant women and individuals with serious fish allergies.
Sincerely,
![Barbara Boxer, US Senator, California](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121109214937im_/https://www.boxer.senate.gov/en/press/updates/images/bbsig_blue.gif)
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
Your Voice Counts: Californians Respond to This Message +
Thank you so much for caring, to send a strong message to the FDA officials regarding safe labeling of sea-foods! As a mom, I am so happy to know you care to help empower me in my informed choices, regarding what I feed to my family! Best,
Dawn, Sausalito
Thank you for writing the FDA on this matter. As a commercial crab fisherman and seafood consumer, this matters to me. Thank you all for all you do. Sincerely,
Steve, Mckinleyville
Thank you so much for fighting for accurate labeling of seafood. As a major seafood eater, I want to be sure that when I'm eating monkfish, it's not fugu!! I appreciate your hard work on behalf of your constituents. Keep it up!
Kevin, Sunnyvale
Thank you very much, Senator Boxer, for writing to the FDA to request they address the issue of seafood fraud. We should not have to worry that seafood that we buy at restaurants or stores may be endangered species.
Sue, Palo Alto
I just wanted to say thank you for all the amazing work you do and for standing up to the FDA on the issue of seafood fraud. I've been extremely frustrated with lobbyists writing the rules and watching corporations worry more about profit than for the health of our society. I hope you continue to push for change from the FDA on this and many other issues.
Andrea, San Francisco
Thank you for bringing attention to seafood fraud. I have recently learned how much of it is going on, and hope something will be done soon to lessen the fraud. The cost of seafood is high enough to guarantee a good product. I am a senior on a fixed income who is supposed to eat more seafood, which I can barely afford. To find out that I am not getting what I am paying for is very upsetting. Please keep on this one! Thank you.
Barbara, Pleasant Hill
Consumers need to know what our dollars are contributing to. We have the right to decide whether to purchase truthfully labeled wild caught or farmed seafood as well.
Chris, Temple City
Thank you for your advocacy of correct labeling of seafood. As our resources become less available, it's more and more important that we know with precision what we have for future generations. Mislabeling seafood to escape regulation is not the kind of behavior that is conducive to preserving resources for future generations. I appreciate your support of this issue, and hope it will help with more vigorous enforcement.
Janet, Sacramento
Your message about requiring the FDA to step up their efforts to combat mislabeling of seafood made my day! Over the past months I have participated in several petition and letter campaigns to the FDA about this issue. For all I know, I may even have signed a petition to my elected representatives. If you were a recipient, I apologize for preaching to the choir. I hope that at last the FDA will realize that Oceana and its supporters are not "eco terrorists" but people concerned about the serious health problems that can arise from the consumption of mislabeled seafood.
Ileana, Riverside
Thank you so very much for your excellent, well-researched and thorough letter to the FDA. As your constituent I am very happy with your work on this issue which projects the need for a plausible accountability (that is, accountability which is not only needed, but possible) with health and safety at a most primal level: our food source. This is where it is reasonable and important to demand accountability. I hope to learn the answers you are given and with your help I intend to follow this issue as any citizen should be who is concerned that the people are not callously deceived. I have shared your letter on my Facebook page with the following comments: This news is shocking but not surprising. And clearly there are important questions that need to be answered. This is one of the most across-the-board useful and pertinent things I know of Barbara Boxer having done. Please read her letters and make "fish fraud" the dirty word it deserves to be. It puts a whole new spin on "there's something rotten in Denmark" when people are not even eating what they should be able to believe they're eating. Read it and be alarmed: the percentages are amazingly bad: 55% of fish in Los Angeles are mislabeled: 100% of Florida White Tuna are a different fish, that causes digestive problems!
Christopher, San Mateo
I want to thank you for reaching out to the FDA in an attempt to reduce the alarming amount of fraudulently labeled seafood. Not only does it pose a serious health risk for pregnant women and those with food sensitivities, it poses a serious risk to the health of our oceans. I am an extreme ocean conservationist, as I see it being the life line of a healthy environment. The seas are in peril, and overfishing is compounding the issues facing those trying desperately to reverse the status. Mislabeled seafood means to me a huge loophole for catching/selling endangered, and overfished species and profiting off of them at market. Thank you for supporting the health of Californians and the Oceans we all depend on for a healthy existence.
Sarah, Arcata
Bravo, Senator Boxer, for requesting that the FDA look into this. Our food labeling in this nation is so oftentimes dishonest, which is so unfair and sometimes harmful to consumers. We all have a right to know precisely what we are purchasing with our dollars and ingesting into our bodies--whether it be fish or any other food. Thank you for tackling this issue. Please keep up this effort.
Melanieq, Mission Viejo
I want to thank you for fighting for label transparency and for the safety of our food supply. It feels good to know that there are representatives in government still fighting for what the people want and deserve. You have my Support!
Colleen, Pacific Grove
I am totally in support of your efforts to combat seafood fraud. Keep up the good work Senator Boxer.
Brian, San Francisco
I got your email about the legislation against seafood fraud. Thank you very much for supporting this cause. I'm vegetarian myself, but I'm also Jewish and we have to be careful about what seafood we eat if we keep kosher. It's very important to us. I also share the safety concerns that people may be getting excess mercury if they're not getting the fish they think they are..
Millie, El Cajon
Thank you for bringing this issue to the FDA. I had no idea that 86% of the sea food in the US was imported! Our family appreciates your work on behalf of all citizens.
Silka, San Diego
There is so much talk of what government should and should not do. It seems that you have my priorities at heart again. Simply, thank you.
Sarah, Nevada City
I am very pleased you have taken this to the FDA. It is an important issue that needs to be address. The number of misslabelling is out of control, so I am happy I have always voted for you to watch out for the peoples interests not just big money.
Adella, Penn Valley
Thank you for contacting me on this issue. Since I live in a seaport city where seafood is a local commodity I appreciate your efforts on behalf of this industry. It's important that seafood buyers know exactly what they are getting in case of allergies and the FDA should not even have to be told through legislation to label correctly - it should be a regular part of their job. But since they seem to require a legislative reminder to do their job properly I'm happy to hear that you are among those providing that nudge. Sincerely,
Karen, Van Nuys
I completely support your position on this. I have read a lot about the conditions of the world's coral reefs, whose symbiotic relationship with fishes, is well known. I have read on the impact of farmed seafoods and finally, I understand the issues, worldwide, with the labeling of fish. Let's set a precedent and be a leader. Thank you.
Linda, San Diego
Thank you for taking action against fraudulent mislabeling of fish for consumption. I read labels on food and expect to receive truthful information as to what the contents are. We need to be able to feel not only safe in what we are consuming, we also need to feel we are being provided with truthful information. Your efforts are appreciated.
Candace, Moreno Valley
Thank you for writing to the FDA on this topic. It is a very important topic. I know several people with severe fish allergies, some of them are children, and for some of them exposure to fish can be life threatening. For some, even contact of the hands with a fish substance can cause severe rashes and splitting of the skin of the hands. Food labeling is only valuable if it is true and complete. Actually, I think this topic should be carried further, because there are many food substances that contain fish oils that are not even labeled as containing them. The same is true for corn products. Many people, not necessarily the same ones as above, have corn allergies that can be life threatening. They need to know if a product contains corn substances. More rare, but still as important, there are some who have allergies to wheat and to other foods. It is imperative that our food labeling be true and complete. For fish, and for corn and other products, it is also important to have species related information because some people with allergies may be more sensitive to one species than another. Life threatening danger lurks on every grocer's shelf.
Bill, El Cerrito
Thank you for all your efforts to ensure safety and honest labeling for seafood. As a cancer survivor, I am particularly grateful for your concern over fraudulent labeling and our health. When we see children with serious illnesses, it so important to take proactive measures to prevent suffering. Your efforts will allow us to make informed good choices for our families, including seniors and expectant mothers.
Irene, San Jose
Thank you for taking this little known fact up with those who may be able to make some changes.
Carole, Santa Ynez