Act Now to Protect Seafood Traceability!

Seafood provides important protein and nutrients for millions of people every day, and the U.S. government recommends eating seafood twice a week as an integral part of a healthy diet. At the same time, seafood, if not properly handed, can make you sick. This is why the Food and Drug Administration included seafood in its new requirements to track food through supply chains, which allows the government to identify risky products and recall them if needed.

Around 260,000 people get sick from contaminated fish each year in the United States alone. Fish is the most common category of food responsible for foodborne illness outbreaks.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring most of the nation's seafood supply, both domestic and imported, is safe and honestly labeled. In 2010, Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law to bring FDA’s food safety into the 21st century, including shifting from paper-based record keeping to electronic for the riskiest food — including seafood. When there is an outbreak, the FDA recalls the food from grocery stores, restaurants, and the rest of the supply chain, often before it reaches your dinner plate. By requiring full chain traceability for these high-risk foods, the FDA can more rapidly address foodborne outbreaks.

While the new law passed in 2010, the FDA was slow in finalizing the food traceability rule. Thanks to Oceana and Wavemakers like you, the FDA finalized this Food Traceability List and associated traceability requirements, including requiring boat to plate traceability for most seafood.

But right now, traceability for seafood and other foods is in danger.

A new bill introduced in Congress would delay the improvements in food traceability, meaning your health and safety is on the line. Use your voice and tell your U.S. Representatives and Senators that you do not want them to co-sponsor or support ANY legislation that would obstruct or weaken the FDA’s food traceability requirements, especially for seafood.

Traceability of seafood through the entire supply chain is essential to protect human health. Let’s fight for a healthy future — together.

petition letter

Dear {contact_data~salutation}

I am writing as a constituent who is concerned about legislation that would weaken and delay a long-awaited program to protect consumers from food poisoning outbreaks by improving traceability of seafood and other foods. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of implementing requirements mandated by Congress back in 2010 in the Food Safety Modernization Act to improve tracing of higher-risk foods.    
 
As a seafood consumer, I want to know that the seafood I purchase is safe, legally caught, honestly labeled, and responsibly sourced. Accurate labeling and traceability from the boat to my plate would provide me with more confidence in the seafood I eat and bring integrity to the full supply chain.

I urge you to oppose any legislation to delay or weaken FDA’s Food Traceability Rule. For example, a bill introduced in the House of Representatives (H.R. 7563) would delay the rule by several years, as well as remove record-keeping requirements for warehouses, grocery stores, and restaurants—putting American consumers at greater risk from food poisoning outbreaks.

Seafood provides important protein and nutrients for millions of people every day. The U.S. government recommends eating seafood twice a week as an integral part of a healthy diet. However, seafood can also be a high-risk food when not safely handled, sourced, or honestly labeled. Seafood in general is extremely sensitive to proper handling and refrigeration, and in some cases can cause severe illness if not handled correctly. Each year in the United States, around 260,000 people get sick from contaminated fish alone, and fish are the most common food category implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks.

Seafood mislabeling and fraud complicates consumers’ abilities to differentiate what is safe and what is potentially dangerous. With about 2,039 different species of seafood from all over the world now available for sale in the United States, it is unrealistic to expect the American consumer to be able to independently and accurately determine what fish is really being served. Despite these risks, consumers are often given inadequate, confusing, or misleading information about the seafood they purchase because of weak regulations.  
 
Ensuring the Food Traceability List requirements for seafood go into effect in 2026 will help regulators address concerns about the health and safety of seafood products. Traceability of seafood through the entire supply chain is essential to protect human health.

Finally, as a seafood consumer, I have a right to know more about the seafood I eat. I welcome the implementation of the food traceability requirements in 2026, and I ask that you to refrain from cosponsoring or supporting any legislation or legislative riders that would jeopardize the health and safety of American consumers. 
 
Sincerely,

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}

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