Bill lets agriculture department pick up and destroy contaminated imported seafood when needed

Representative Jessica Domaine introduced House Bill 121, which would allow the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to pick up and destroy contaminated imported seafood in addition to the current practice when Health and Hospitals issues a stop order.

Commissioner Strain explained the current process: when testing finds contaminants, the department issues a stop order and Health and Hospitals is responsible for picking up the product, but Health and Hospitals has limited workforce to retrieve scattered small lots in remote locations. "This would allow us, in addition to health and hospitals, simply to pick it up and destroy it," he said.

Support cards from the restaurant association and the Farm Bureau were filed; Senator Womack moved to report HB 121 favorably and the motion carried with no recorded opposition. Committee testimony emphasized interagency cooperation and did not propose changes to testing protocols.

If enacted, the bill would expand which agencies can directly remove and destroy contaminated imports, easing logistics following positive tests. The committee reported the bill favorably to the next stage.