South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 3708

STATUS INFORMATION

Concurrent Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Ceips, Herbkersman, Lloyd, Young, Bailey, Barfield, Bowers, Breeland, R. Brown, Chellis, Clemmons, Edge, Gilham, Hagood, Haskins, Hinson, Keegan, Limehouse, Mack, Mahaffey, Merrill, Miller, Rivers, Scarborough, Umphlett, Viers and Witherspoon
Document Path: l:\council\bills\bbm\9496sd03.doc

Introduced in the House on February 27, 2003
Introduced in the Senate on March 11, 2003
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources

Summary: Chloramphenicol and other banned veterinary drugs in imported shrimp, General Assembly expressing concern and calling on federal government to improve food import restrictions

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   2/27/2003  House   Introduced HJ-36
   2/27/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Invitations and Memorial 
                        Resolutions HJ-36
    3/5/2003  House   Committee report: Favorable Invitations and Memorial 
                        Resolutions HJ-66
    3/6/2003  House   Adopted, sent to Senate HJ-23
   3/11/2003  Senate  Introduced SJ-11
   3/11/2003  Senate  Referred to Committee on Agriculture and Natural 
                        Resources SJ-11

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

2/27/2003
3/5/2003

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

COMMITTEE REPORT

March 5, 2003

H. 3708

Introduced by Reps. Ceips, Herbkersman, Lloyd, Young, Bailey, Barfield, Bowers, Breeland, R. Brown, Chellis, Clemmons, Edge, Gilham, Hagood, Haskins, Hinson, Keegan, Limehouse, Mack, Mahaffey, Merrill, Miller, Rivers, Scarborough, Umphlett, Viers and Witherspoon

S. Printed 3/5/03--H.

Read the first time February 27, 2003.

            

THE COMMITTEE ON

INVITATIONS AND MEMORIAL RESOLUTIONS

To whom was referred a Concurrent Resolution (H. 3708) expressing the concern of the General Assembly over the presence of chloramphenicol and other banned veterinary drugs in imported shrimp and calling on the federal government to take immediate and focused efforts, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:

ROBERT W. LEACH, SR. for Committee.

            

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

EXPRESSING THE CONCERN OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OVER THE PRESENCE OF CHLORAMPHENICOL AND OTHER BANNED VETERINARY DRUGS IN IMPORTED SHRIMP AND CALLING ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE IMMEDIATE AND FOCUSED EFFORTS TO IMPROVE ENFORCEMENT OF FOOD IMPORT RESTRICTIONS OF SEAFOOD IMPORTS IN ORDER TO PROTECT UNITED STATES CONSUMERS AND ENSURE SAFETY OF THE FOOD SUPPLY.

Whereas, chloramphenicol, a potent antibiotic, can cause severe toxic effects in humans, including hypo-aplastic anemia, which is usually irreversible and fatal; and

Whereas, because of these human health impacts, chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and similar veterinary drugs are not approved for use in food-producing animals in the United States; and

Whereas, other countries have been found to use these drugs in the aquaculture of shrimp and other seafood, including Thailand, Vietnam, and China; and

Whereas, the nation imports over 400,000 metric tons of shrimp annually, and Thailand and Vietnam are the top two exporters of shrimp to the United States, and China is the fifth largest exporter of shrimp to the United States; and

Whereas, in 2002 the European Union and Canada severely restricted imports of shrimp and other food from these nations upon detection of chloramphenicol using testing protocols that can detect such substances to 0.3 parts per billion in certain shipments of seafood from China and other nations; and

Whereas, the United States Food and Drug Administration inspects only two percent of all seafood imports into the United States and utilizes a testing procedure that cannot detect the presence of chloramphenicol below one part per billion; and

Whereas, Food and Drug Administration import testing did not detect chloramphenicol in shrimp imported from these nations in 2002, independent testing performed by or for the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas detected chloramphenicol in samples of imported shrimp from China and other countries at levels harmful to human health; and

Whereas, imports of seafood from nations that utilize substances banned in the United States such as chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and other veterinary drugs pose potential threats to United States consumers; and

Whereas, denial of entry to contaminated shrimp and other products to the European Union and Canada will likely redirect imports to the United States of contaminated products turned away from these countries. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the General Assembly, by this resolution, expresses its concern about the presence of chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and other veterinary drugs in imported shrimp and its potential impact on the safety of the food, and calls for immediate and focused actions by the federal government to improve enforcement of food import restrictions of seafood imports containing chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and other banned veterinary drugs in order to protect United States consumers and ensure safety of the food supply.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the United States Food and Drug Administration.

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