HR 9143 2003
1	House Resolution
2	A resolution expressing concern over the presence of
3	chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and other veterinary drugs
4	in imported shrimp.
5
6	WHEREAS, the Florida House of Representatives expresses its
7	concern over the presence of chloramphenicol and other banned
8	veterinary drugs in imported shrimp and asserts that immediate
9	action needs to be taken to improve enforcement of restrictions
10	on seafood imports in order to protect the consumers of Florida
11	and the United States and ensure the safety of the food supply,
12	and
13	WHEREAS, chloramphenicol, a potent antibiotic, can cause
14	severe toxic effects in humans, including hypo-aplastic anemia,
15	which is usually irreversible and fatal, and
16	WHEREAS, because of these human health impacts,
17	chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and similar veterinary drugs are
18	not approved for use in food-producing animals in the State of
19	Florida and in the United States, and
20	WHEREAS, other countries have been found to use these drugs
21	in the aquaculture of shrimp and other seafood, including
22	Thailand, Vietnam, and China, and
23	WHEREAS, this nation imports over 400,000 metric tons of
24	shrimp annually, with Thailand and Vietnam being the top two
25	exporters of shrimp to the United States and China the fifth
26	largest exporter of shrimp to the United States, and
27	WHEREAS, upon detection of chloramphenicol using testing
28	protocols that can detect such substances to 0.3 parts per
29	billion in certain shipments of seafood from China and other
30	nations, in 2002 the European Union and Canada severely
31	restricted imports of shrimp and other food from these nations,
32	and
33	WHEREAS, the United States Food and Drug Administration
34	inspects only 2 percent of all seafood imports into the United
35	States and utilizes a testing procedure that cannot detect the
36	presence of chloramphenicol below 1 part per billion, and
37	WHEREAS, Food and Drug Administration import testing did
38	not detect chloramphenicol in shrimp imported from these nations
39	in 2002, although independent testing performed by or for the
40	states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas
41	detected the drug in samples of imported shrimp from China and
42	other countries at levels harmful to human health, and
43	WHEREAS, imports of seafood from nations that utilize
44	substances banned in the United States, such as chloramphenicol,
45	nitrofurans, and other veterinary drugs, pose potential threats
46	to United States consumers, and
47	WHEREAS, denial of entry of contaminated shrimp and other
48	products to the European Union and Canada will likely redirect
49	imports of contaminated products turned away from these
50	countries into the United States, NOW, THEREFORE,
51
52	Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of
53	Florida:
54
55	That the Florida House of Representatives expresses its
56	concern over the presence of chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and
57	other veterinary drugs in imported shrimp and its potential
58	impact on the safety of the food.