Diners can now look for the U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish Seal

Jackson, Miss. — August 18, 2007 — The Catfish Institute (TCI), which promotes the great taste and safety of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, is in the process of distributing materials to restaurants so operators can let their customers know they serve only the best.

The restaurant materials, according to Roger Barlow, TCI president, are being provided to foodservice operators to inform consumers that they serve only U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

"We know that the TCI restaurant materials will erase any doubts in catfish lovers that the catfish they are eating is nothing but U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish," Barlow said. "Consumers should be sure to check restaurant menus, walls and table tops for the 'U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish: Safety You Can Trust' seal, to make certain the catfish served is authentic U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish."

Restaurant materials include a number of TCI-sponsored pieces, identified with a "U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish: Safety You Can Trust" seal. Materials include a brochure on food safety, logo stickers for menus, a static-cling decal that can be affixed to the inside of doors and windows, table-tent cards to be placed on restaurant tables, a logo that can be scanned and used on future menus and a TCI certificate that can be framed and hung on the wall of the restaurants.

The materials carry a consistent theme of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish being the safest, freshest and healthiest fish available, and assert the restaurants' commitment to serving only U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish. The eye-catching promotions are provided at no cost to restaurants carrying U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish.

TCI believes that consumers should be informed as to the origin of catfish served in restaurants as a result of recent media reports that revealed imported catfish contained harmful pollutants such as malachite green, illegal antibiotics and salmonella bacteria.

"Consumers know that U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is the only safe choice when it comes to catfish," Barlow said. "Recent research findings and the FDA's decision to detain import orders undeniably prove that the quality of catfish imports from Asian countries simply cannot be trusted."

A recent national survey, funded by The Catfish Institute, confirmed consumers' attitudes towards imported fish. It found:

  •  97 percent of U.S. consumers want to know whether they are eating imported or U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish in restaurants.
  •  90 percent believe Country of Origin Labeling (C.O.O.L) for catfish should be a legislative requirement for restaurant menus.
  •  96 percent of U.S. consumers believe that catfish raised in foreign countries and sold in the U.S. should be held to the same standards as catfish raised and sold in the U.S.