FDA Bans Importers Guilty of Seafood Mislabeling
FDA Bans Importers Guilty of Seafood Mislabeling Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued debarments precluding Karen Blyth and David Phelps from importing food into the United States for the next 20 years. Ms. Blyth had been sentenced to 33 months of imprisonment and Mr. Phelps received 24 months last year after being convicted for 13 felony offenses […]
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Seafood Distributor Sentenced for Mislabeling Shrimp
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Richard Stowell, of United Seafood Imports, had been sentenced to two years of probation and six months of home confinement for mislabeling imported shrimp products sold in the U.S. market. Mr. Stowell’s sentencing follows a related criminal conviction and sentencing in March of this year of Mark Platt, of Shifco Inc., […]
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U.S. Government Files Lawsuit to Recover Antidumping Duties on Mislabeled Seafood
On May 9, the U.S. government filed suit in the Court of International Trade to recover nearly $1 million in lost duties, penalties, and interest against Country Flavor Corp., a seafood importer located in El Monte, California and the issuer of Country Flavor’s surety bonds, International Fidelity Insurance Company (United States v. Country Flavor Corp., Court No. 11-00138). The Government’s […]
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Two Seafood Execs Sentenced for Mislabeling
Department of Justice Press Release Posted Thursday, May 5, 2011 Seafood Wholesaler Owners Sentenced in Alabama for Selling Falsely Labeled Fish, Smuggling and Misbranding of Seafood Products WASHINGTON– Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively. The pair was also fined $5,000 […]
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Florida Seafood Company Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Mislabel Shrimp
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/110427-01.html FLORIDA SEAFOOD COMPANY AND ITS PRESIDENT PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO MISLABEL SHRIMP April 27, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), […]
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Foreign Shrimp Exporter Adopts Coding System to Prevent Seafood Fraud
Tarpon Springs, FL—Federal government investigations confirm that millions of dollars of falsely labeled shrimp are imported into the United States every year, an illegal activity that allows unprincipled companies to avoid U.S. food safety and trade laws. The Southern Shrimp Alliance and Devi Sea Foods Limited (Devi), an Indian exporter of shrimp, jointly developed a coding system that will prevent […]
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NOAA Press Release on Mislabeling
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 4, 2011 NOAA Contact: Lesli Bales-Sherrod 301-495-7103 NOAA investigations into mislabeling seafood protects consumers and fishermen Defendants plead guilty in federal court to violating the Lacey Act Seafood consumers and the law-abiding fishermen who catch that seafood gained a big victory last week when a complex NOAA Office of Law Enforcement investigation into conspiracy, misbranding and […]
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Fraud and Mislabeling Update
Karen L. Blyth and David H.M. Phelps pleaded guilty in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 13 felony offenses for their roles in purchasing and selling farm raised Asian catfish and Lake Victoria perch falsely labeled as grouper; selling foreign farm-raised shrimp falsely labeled as U.S. wild caught shrimp, selling shrimp that falsely claimed to be larger, more expensive shrimp than they actually were; and for buying fish they knew had been illegally imported into the United States.
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Guilty Plea in Shrimp Mislabeling Case Highlights Fraud in Shrimp Market
On January 12, 2011, the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida issued a press release announcing that a Florida company had pled guilty to criminal charges related to the mislabeling of salmon and shrimp for resale in the U.S. market. According to court filings accompanying the guilty plea, Shifco, Inc. worked with an unnamed […]
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Developing Standards and Testing
Developing Standards and Testing The SSA is a primary sponsor and partner in efforts by the Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC) International to develop testing methods and standards to identify various harmful contaminants in seafood. Richard Vendetti represented the SSA by serving on the AOAC International’s Stakeholders Panel for Marine and Freshwater Foods. During a two-day conference, the Panel worked […]