Cochran stresses importance of USDA catfish program
Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran has again stressed to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack the importance to U.S. food safety and the economy of implementing a program to more thoroughly inspect imported catfish.
Cochran addressed the issue at Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the FY2013 budget request for the USDA.
Cochran asked Vilsack about the status of the USDA’s effort to implement an imported catfish inspection program, as mandated by Congress in the 2008 farm bill. The Mississippi Senator has been pushing the USDA for nearly three years to make progress on the inspection process. Regulations for the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) program were supposed to be released 18 months after enactment of the 2008 farm bill.
Delta Farm Press
4/3/12
Magnolia Tribune
