§5.5.3. Seafood Safety Task Force; creation; purpose

            A. Within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism there is hereby created the Seafood Safety Task Force, hereafter referred to as "task force". The task force shall serve as the state panel of experts focused on ensuring the safety of seafood processed, distributed, purchased, and consumed in Louisiana and the education and awareness of consumers regarding the health risks associated with imported seafood, as well as making recommendations on the utilization of monies in the Imported Seafood Safety Fund to test imported seafood.

            B. The task force shall be charged with making recommendations on all of the following:

            (1) The method in which the imported seafood is inspected in Louisiana.

            (2) The frequency of inspections of imported seafood.

            (3) The substances for which imported seafood are currently being tested, including but not limited to malachite green, oxytetracycline, fluoroquinolone, and nitrofurantoin.

            (4) The results of sampling analysis of potentially harmful substances in imported seafood.

            (5) The harmful effects of antibody resistence due to consumption of imported seafood.

            (6) The most effective methods of education and awareness to alert the public on the importance of reading labels, menus, packaging, and signage before consuming seafood.

            (7) The most effective methods of protecting our waters from contaminated foreign bait shrimp.

            (8) The cost of permits and the amount of fines and penalties imposed by the agencies that regulate seafood in this state and whether the cost of the permits are sufficient to effectively enforce state-mandated seafood programs and whether the fines and penalties imposed are functioning as a successful deterrent or if they need to be increased.

            (9) The many laws of the state regarding the seafood industry to ensure that they are updated and modernized to continue to protect consumers of seafood.

            (10) Any other matter considered appropriate by the members of the task force or as requested by the legislature, governor, lieutenant governor, or state agency with responsibility for seafood safety.

            C. The task force shall compile the results of these findings annually and shall develop seafood safety recommendations to be reported to the governor and the legislature no later than February first of each year.

            D. The task force shall be composed of the following fourteen members:

            (1) A member appointed by the chairman of the House Committee on Health and Welfare.

            (2) A member appointed by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare.

            (3) The commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry or his designee.

            (4) The chancellor of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center or his designee.

            (5) A representative of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

            (6) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.

            (7) A representative of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force.

            (8) A representative of the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation.

            (9) The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or his designee.

            (10) The secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee.

            (11) A representative of the Louisiana Restaurant Association.

            (12) A public health nutritionist.

            (13) A representative of the Louisiana Crawfish Promotion and Research Board.

            (14) A representative of the Louisiana Retailers Association.

            E. The task force shall convene at least quarterly. At the first meeting of each calendar year, the members shall elect a chairman and other officers as they consider appropriate.

            F. The task force shall meet at times and at places throughout the state as it may designate to ensure participation. Meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman or at the call of a quorum of members upon not less than seven days' notice. A majority of a quorum shall be present to transact any business. The members of the task force shall not be compensated for their services on the task force but may seek travel reimbursements from their respective agencies under their respective guidelines. Meetings of the task force shall be subject to laws regarding open meetings, and records of the task force shall be subject to laws regarding public records.

            G.(1) The chair of the task force may appoint committees to fulfill the purposes of the task force. The chair of the task force shall appoint the chair of any committee and shall designate the functions and responsibilities of each committee appointed.

            (2) Committees may include but not be limited to a committee to facilitate coordination with other coastal or seafood producing states in the United States, a committee on coordination with the Louisiana Congressional delegation and the bipartisan American Seafood Caucus, and a committee on promoting jobs and professional interest in commercial fisheries.

            H. The Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism shall promulgate any rules necessary, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, for implementation of the provisions of this Section.

            Acts 2009, No. 330, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2010; Acts 2024, No. 756, §2, eff. June 19, 2024.