Shrimp mislabeling blamed on La. seafood processing company

A Tangipahoa Parish seafood processing company and an Illinois-based seafood distributor on Tuesday were charged in federal court in New Orleans with mislabeling shrimp caught in Mexico as U.S. shrimp and commercially selling more than $100,000 worth of it in interstate commerce, The Times-Picayune reports. Between Nov. 15, 2007, and Dec. 4, 2008, Worldwide Shrimp Co. of Highland Park, Ill., allegedly sent the shrimp of Mexican origin to Doran Sea-Pak of 136 E. Railroad Ave., Independence. Doran Sea-Pak processed and packaged it, falsely affixing the U.S. labels of origin, according to court filings. Worldwide Shrimp Co. allegedly instructed Doran Sea-Pak to label the shrimp as caught in the United States, although Doran Sea-Pak officials knew the shrimp were from Mexico, according to the court filings. Doran Sea-Pak then would send the shrimp back to Worldwide Shrimp Co. or to other entities to which Worldwide Shrimp Co. had arranged to sell it, according to court records. Worldwide Shrimp Co. sold shrimp throughout the United States under one of four brand names: Shrimp King, Texas Supreme, Black Diamond and Campeche Queen. If convicted of the felonies, each company faces a maximum fine of $500,000. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration investigated the case.