ATLANTA — Georgia restaurants must now tell customers if they are serving imported shrimp, further proof that everything is copacetic in the Peach State.
House Bill 117, which Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed on May 6, requires food service establishments that serve foreign imported shrimp to clearly disclose that fact either on each shrimp menu item or on a sign visible to customers. Menu items must be labeled “Foreign Imported,” while restaurants using signage may instead display “Foreign Imported Shrimp.”
The law doesn’t ban imported seafood or limit where restaurants can buy shrimp. Instead, it requires restaurants to let customers know when the shrimp they’re ordering comes from outside the United States.
The change is likely to be felt most along Georgia’s coast, where commercial shrimping remains a key part of the local economy. Georgia shrimpers have long argued that imported shrimp, which often sells at lower prices, makes it harder for consumers to know whether they’re buying locally harvested seafood or imported products. The new law doesn’t require restaurants to serve Georgia shrimp, but it does require them to identify imported shrimp before customers order.
The requirement applies to food service establishments statewide but exempts restaurants operated by state agencies.
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