The FDA ban is on all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace (related to carp) and eel from China.

“I applaud the FDA for imposing a nationwide ban on importing fish from China to help ensure the health and safety of all Americans,” Ross said. “Our food supply is critical to our national security and we must not allow foreign producers to provide us with contaminated foods that do not meet the FDA standards.”

In a May letter to the Commissioner of the FDA, Ross requested a ban and an investigation on all imported Chinese foreign fish being sold under the guise of catfish. Recent tests of the imported fish found traces of the antibiotic fluoroquinolone, an antibiotic banned in the United States in 1997. Ross was notified today of the FDA’s decision.

“We require strict guidelines from our local farmers and we must demand the same accountability from our imported food sources as well,” Ross said. “The FDA’s swift action on this matter is greatly appreciated and I want to thank them for recognizing the health risks these imported fish pose to American consumers.”

The FDA will start to detain imported Chinese fish products at the border until the shipments are proven to be free of residues from drugs that are not approved in the United States for use in farm-raised seafood.

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