MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2008 Regular Session
To: Agriculture
By: Representatives Whittington, Bailey, Jones, Hines, Coleman (29th), Aldridge, Reed, Huddleston (15th), Perkins
AN ACT TO AMEND THE "MISSISSIPPI CATFISH MARKETING LAW OF 1975," TO CREATE A NEW CODE SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 69-7-602, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS; TO AMEND SECTION 69-7-605, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR PURPOSES OF ADDING TERMS AND DEFINITIONS; TO AMEND SECTION 69-7-607, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR GENERAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS BY RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS OFFERING FOR SALE CATFISH PRODUCTS AS TO THE PRODUCTS' COUNTRY OF ORIGIN, TO PROVIDE FOR THE METHOD OF NOTIFICATION BY SUCH ESTABLISHMENTS, TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONER TO REQUIRE A VERIFIABLE AUDIT OF SUCH BUSINESSES, TO REQUIRE DISTRIBUTORS AND WHOLESALERS TO SUPPLY INFORMATION TO SUCH RETAIL AND FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS AS TO CERTIFICATION OF ORIGIN; TO AMEND SECTION 69-7-608, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REMOVE THE STATE HEALTH OFFICER'S RESPONSIBILITIES; TO AMEND SECTION 69-7-609, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REFLECT CHANGES IN THE LABELING REQUIREMENTS, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO AMEND SECTION 69-7-610, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONER TO DISCLOSE TO THE PUBLIC THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF BUSINESSES PURCHASING DOMESTIC OR FOREIGN CATFISH FROM WHOLESALERS, DISTRIBUTORS AND PROCESSORS; TO CREATE A NEW CODE SECTION TO BE CODIFIED AS SECTION 69-7-612, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE TO INSPECT BUSINESSES ENGAGED IN PROVIDING CATFISH FOR PURPOSES OF TESTING THE PRODUCT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. The following shall be codified as Section 69-7-602, Mississippi Code of 1972:
69-7-602. The Legislature finds that aquaculture sales and consumption have increased worldwide and that the use of antibiotics or chemicals not approved for use in food-producing animals in the United States is permitted in aquaculture in other countries and that consumers of aquaculture in Mississippi should be provided clear information as to where the aquaculture product originates from to protect the health and welfare of Mississippi consumers; and the Legislature also finds that food-misrepresentation or the passing off of less expensive aquaculture products as pricier aquaculture products to unknowing customers and retailers has become an issue in the marketplace and is a deceitful practice used on consumers and retailers alike and that consumers and retailers should be informed of the country and species of fish.
SECTION 2. Section 69-7-605, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-7-605. For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Capable of use as human food" means and shall apply to any catfish or part or product thereof unless it is denatured or otherwise identified as required by regulations prescribed by the commissioner to deter its use as human food, or unless it is naturally inedible by humans.
(b) "Catfish" means any species within the family Ictaluridae.
(c) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce of the State of Mississippi.
(d) "Direct retail sale" means the sale of catfish products individually or in small quantities directly to the consumer.
(e) "Distributor" means any person offering for sale, exchange or barter any catfish product destined for direct retail sale in the State of Mississippi.
(f) "Farm-raised Catfish" means the catfish product has been specifically produced in fresh water according to the usual and customary techniques of commercial aquaculture and includes fillets, steaks, nuggets and any other flesh from a "Farm-raised Catfish."
(g) "Fish" means species of fish similar to catfish in the families of Siluridae, Clariidae and Pangasiidae.
(h) "Food service establishment" means a restaurant, cafeteria, lunch room, food stand, saloon, tavern, bar, lounge or other similar facility operated as an enterprise engaged in the business of selling food to the public.
(i) "Label" means a display of written, printed or graphic matter upon or affixed to the container in which a catfish product is offered for direct retail sale.
(j) "Labeling" means all labels and other written, printed or graphic matter upon a catfish product, or any of its containers or wrappers, offered for direct retail sale.
(k) "Menu" means any listing of food and beverage options for a diner or customer to select from regardless of its form.
(l) "Pay pond" means a circumscribed body of water owned by a person and operated solely for recreational fishing purposes on a commercial basis for profit.
(m) "Person" includes any individual, partnership, corporation and association or other legal entity.
(n) "Processor" means any person engaged in handling, storing, preparing, manufacturing, packing or holding catfish products.
(o) "Producer" means any person engaged in the business of harvesting catfish, by any method, intended for direct retail sale.
(p) "Product" means any catfish product capable of use as human food which is made wholly or in part from any catfish or portion thereof, except products which contain catfish only in small proportions or historically have not been, in the judgment of the commissioner, considered by consumers as products of the United States commercial catfish industry and which are exempted from definition as a catfish product by the commissioner under such conditions as he may prescribe to assure that the catfish or portions thereof contained therein are not adulterated and that such products are not represented as catfish products.
(q) "Product name" means the name of the catfish item intended for retail sale which identifies it as to kind, class or specific use.
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(r) "Retailer" means any person offering for sale catfish products to individual consumers and representing the last sale prior to human consumption and includes food service establishments unless otherwise stated herein.
(s) "River or Lake Catfish" means the catfish product has been produced in a freshwater lake, river or stream but has not been produced according to the usual and customary techniques of commercial aquaculture.
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(t) "Wholesaler" means any person offering for sale any catfish product destined for direct retail sale in the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 3. Section 69-7-607, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-7-607. (1) Notice of country of origin.
(a) General requirements:
(i) All retailers of catfish products shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale of the catfish to the consumers, of the country of origin of the catfish;
(ii) United States country of origin. A retailer of catfish products may designate the catfish as having a United States country of origin only if:
1. In case of "Farm-raised Catfish," it is hatched, raised, harvested and processed in the United States;
2. In case of "River or Lake Catfish," it is:
a. Harvested in waters of the United States, a territory of the United States or a state, including the waters thereof; and
b. Processed in the United States, a territory of the United States or a state, including the waters thereof.
(iii) Farm-raised and River or Lake Catfish. The notice of country of origin for "Farm-raised Catfish" and "River or Lake Catfish" shall distinguish between "Farm-raised Catfish" and "River or Lake Catfish."
(b) Method of notification.
(i) Retailers.
1. The information required by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section may be provided to consumers by means of a label, stamp, mark, placard or other clear and visible sign on the catfish or on the package, display, holding unit or bin containing the catfish at the final point of sale to consumers.
2. If the catfish is already individually labeled for retail sale regarding country of origin, the retailer shall not be required to provide any additional information to comply with this section.
(ii) Food service establishments. The information required by paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section shall be provided to the consumer on the menu of the food service establishment. For foreign or imported catfish, the information shall be adjacent to the item on the menu and printed in the same font style and size as the item. If the food service establishment offers for sale only catfish having a United States country of origin, then the food service establishment may generally disclose this in a prominent location in the food service establishment in lieu of disclosure on the menu. The signage disclosing the sale of catfish having a United States country of origin, that is to be placed in a prominent location in the food service establishment, shall be approved, as indicated by a stamp or seal, by the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, which shall be held harmless in a cause of action for a retail or food service establishment's failure or fraudulent disclosure. Any liability arising from failure to disclose country of origin shall remain with the wholesaler and the retail or food service establishment.
(c) The commissioner may require that any person that prepares, stores, handles or distributes catfish for retail sale
maintain a verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the commissioner to verify compliance with this law and any regulations promulgated hereunder.
(d) Any distributor or wholesaler engaged in the business of supplying catfish to a retailer or food service establishment shall provide information to the retailer or food service establishment indicating the country of origin of the catfish. The information shall include certification of origin through a state or federal agency that regulates the processing of catfish or through a federal agency that verifies that catfish and/or other products produced in countries other than the United States meets similar sanitation requirements.
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(2) Any advertising as to any catfish product shall state the information required in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The term "catfish" shall not be used as a common name or in the label name of fish product except as provided in this section.
(4) The commissioner shall have authority to enter the premises of any wholesaler, processor, distributor, retailer or any other person selling catfish products in order to determine compliance with this article.
(5) This section shall not apply to catfish products exported out of the United States.
SECTION 4. Section 69-7-608, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-7-608. (1) The term "catfish" shall not be used as a common name or used to advertise, distribute or label any fish or fish product except for those species within the definition of catfish in Section 69-7-605.
(2) It is unlawful to use the term "catfish" in the advertising, distributing, labeling or selling of any of those species within the family of Siluridae, Clariidae and Pangasiidae or any other fish not within the definition of catfish in Section 69-7-605.
(3) (a) The commissioner shall regulate and inspect retail and food service establishments under this article. * * *
(b) The commissioner shall notify, in writing, any retailer or food service establishment violating this article and shall give the retailer or food service establishment three (3) days to correct the violation. No penalties under this article shall apply to any retailer or food service establishment that corrects the violation within three (3) days from the date notified by the commissioner.
(4) In addition to any other civil or criminal penalties, any person who violates any of the provisions of this chapter or who otherwise misrepresents as catfish any fish or fish product not defined as catfish under this article * * * shall be punished by a fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) * * *. For a second offense, a person shall be punished by a fine of not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00). For any subsequent violations, a person shall be punished by a fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) or by having the license for the retail or food establishment suspended indefinitely or until such establishment has corrected the violation, or both. Any person against whom a complaint is made or who has been made subject to a fine or license suspension as provided by this subsection, may avail themselves of a due process administrative hearing as provided by Section 69-7-616.
SECTION 5. Section 69-7-609, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-7-609. All distributors, processors or wholesalers of catfish products, distributing or selling catfish products, shall provide information to each person, firm or corporation to whom they distribute or sell catfish products for resale as to the labeling information required in subsection (1) of Section 69-7-607.
SECTION 6. Section 69-7-610, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
69-7-610. (1) All distributors, processors or wholesalers of catfish or other fish products, distributing or selling catfish or other fish products, shall provide information to the commissioner or his representative, upon request, and to each retailer to which such distributor, processor or wholesaler distributes or sells catfish or other fish products as to whether such product is Farm-raised Catfish, River or Lake Catfish, Imported Catfish, or Other Fish a Product of (country of origin). In addition, any wholesaler or distributor shall provide his sales and purchases records of catfish and other fish upon request by the commissioner. Other fish includes those fish in the taxonomic family of Siluridae, Clariidae and Pangasiidae.
(2) The commissioner may disclose to the public the names and addresses of businesses that purchase domestic and/or foreign catfish and other fish from wholesalers, distributors and processors.
SECTION 7. The following shall be codified as Section 69-7-612, Mississippi Code of 1972:
69-7-612. The commissioner shall have authority to enter the premises of any wholesaler, distributor or retailer to pull samples of catfish and other similar fish for laboratory testing to test for species identification and/or any other testing as may be necessary to determine compliance with this article.
SECTION 8. Sections 69-7-601 through 69-7-617, Mississippi Code of 1972, which create the Mississippi Catfish Marketing Law of 1975, shall stand repealed as of June 30, 2010.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008.