Shrimposters! Tampa Bay restaurants caught serving imported seafood
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Growing up going to seafood restaurants with my family, I always cringed in embarrassment when my dad would press the servers over whether the fish or shrimp were caught locally.
Why it matters: Turns out he was onto something. Some Tampa Bay restaurants are serving up imported shrimp despite implying otherwise, according to a new report.
- In fact, of the 44 restaurants that SeaD Consulting collected samples from, just two served wild-caught Gulf shrimp.
State of play: Salt Shack on the Bay in Tampa and St. Petersburg's Stillwaters Tavern passed the test, per SeaD, a technology company that uses genetic testing to monitor fraud in the seafood industry.
- The remaining restaurants used farm-raised shrimp from countries like India, Vietnam and Ecuador, the company said, even though their menus, décor and location implied otherwise.
How it works: The company collected shrimp from eateries over five days earlier this month. Scientists then ran each sample through rapid genetic testing to determine its origin.
- The report doesn't name the offending restaurants, but SeaD is planning to send them letters with the firm's findings, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
Between the lines: Per the Federal Trade Commission, false "implied claims" — or "using pictures, symbols, or other things to make people believe something about what they are selling without actually saying the words" — are illegal.
The big picture: While SeaD's findings in Tampa Bay are "the most egregious," the company said in a news release, they're consistent with similar mislabeling uncovered in Gulf Coast cities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
The bottom line: If you want the true Gulf shrimp experience, SeaD recommends doing exactly what my dad did: asking the restaurant where their shrimp comes from.
- And if your kids give you a hard time, just show them this story.