May 21, 2013
Louisiana agriculture officials, like their counterparts in Alabama, have ordered emergency mandatory testing of crabs and crabmeat imported from several countries including Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico and Malaysia.
Louisiana Agriculture Secretary Bob Odom said the emergency rules followed the discovery of Chloramphenicol in Vietnamese crabmeat imported into Alabama and Louisiana.
Chloramphenicol is used in some countries, such as China and Thailand, to control disease in shrimp, crawfish and bees.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has prohibited Chloramphenicol use in producing food in the United States because of concerns about the potential for serious blood disorders in humans.
"Stop orders" preventing distribution were issued after two positive samples were taken from two separate cold storage warehouses. One stop order affects 1,440 pounds of crabmeat and the other affects 6,340 pounds.
Odom said the rules for crab are similar to those remaining in effect from last year for Chloramphenicol testing of crawfish, shrimp and honey.
