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By:  Jackson                                                    S.C.R. No. 25 
	(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2003; March 20, 2003, read 
first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human Services; 
May 2, 2003, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 8, 
Nays 0; May 2, 2003, sent to printer.)


SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

	WHEREAS, Imports of seafood from countries that use 
substances in aquaculture such as chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, 
and other veterinary drugs banned for such use in the United States 
pose potential threats to United States consumers; and
	WHEREAS, The State of Texas is concerned about the use of 
certain antibiotics and other banned veterinary drugs in shrimp 
imported from outside of the United States for consumption in the 
State of Texas; chloramphenicol, a potent antibiotic, can cause 
severe toxic effects in humans, including hypoplastic anemia, which 
is usually irreversible and fatal; and
	WHEREAS, Because of such human health impacts, 
chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and similar veterinary drugs are not 
approved for use in food-producing animals in the United States; 
and
	WHEREAS, Other countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, and 
China have been found to use these drugs in the aquaculture of 
shrimp and other seafood; and
	WHEREAS, The United States imports over 400,000 metric tons 
of shrimp annually, and Thailand, Vietnam, and China are the 
largest, second largest, and fifth largest exporter of shrimp to 
the United States, respectively; and
	WHEREAS, On detection of chloramphenicol in certain 
shipments of seafood from China and other countries through the use 
of testing protocols that can detect such substances to 0.3 parts 
per billion, the European Union and Canada severely restricted 
imports of shrimp and other food from these countries in 2002; and
	WHEREAS, The federal Food and Drug Administration inspects 
only two percent of all seafood imports into the United States and 
uses a testing procedure that cannot detect the presence of 
chloramphenicol below one part per billion; and
	WHEREAS, Although the federal Food and Drug Administration 
tests of imported food did not detect chloramphenicol in shrimp 
imported from China and other countries in 2002, independent 
testing performed by or for Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Texas detected chloramphenicol in samples of 
imported shrimp from those countries at levels harmful to human 
health; and
	WHEREAS, The denial of entry to the European Union and Canada 
of contaminated shrimp and other products will likely redirect 
those contaminated products to the United States; now, therefore, 
be it
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby express concern about the presence of chloramphenicol, 
nitrofurans, and other banned veterinary drugs in imported shrimp, 
the potential adverse impact on the safety of the food supply, and 
the resultant risk to human health; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas 
hereby call for immediate and focused actions by the United States 
government to improve the enforcement of food import restrictions 
on seafood imports containing chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, and 
other banned veterinary drugs in order to ensure the safety of the 
food supply, and to protect consumers in the United States and, in 
particular, in Texas.



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