President Signs Omnibus Spending Bill Officially Changing Legal Market Name for Pollock
SEAFOODNEWS.COM By Peggy Parker - December 21, 2015
Members of the U.S. pollock industry are lauding the efforts of the Washington and Alaska Congressional delegations for finally correcting a name change that levels the market playing field and underscores truth in labeling.
The federal omnibus spending bill that Congress passed and the President signed on Friday included a key section that changes the market name of the nation’s largest fishery from “Alaska pollock” to “pollock,” and restricts the geographic descriptor “Alaska” from being used except on pollock harvested from that state.
The new law corrects decades of consumer and market confusion over the use of the market name “Alaska pollock” on the species Gadus chalcogrammus, regardless of where it was harvested. Before the law was enacted, pollock from both Russia and Alaska were sold as “Alaska pollock,” making it impossible for consumers to determine product origin and to make a choice between the two sources.
“Seafood consumers across the nation gained more certainty about the source of the seafood they buy,” said Pat Shanahan...
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