Georgia law forces eateries to reveal whether shrimp is imported or local

Georgia's House Bill 117, signed into law and effective July 1, obliges every private restaurant in the state to indicate whether shrimp on their menus is sourced from abroad, using menu notes or public signage. The requirement, postponed for enforcement until January, seeks to increase transparency for patrons and to support local shrimpers who face competition from low-priced farm-raised imports. Representative Jesse Petrea, the bill's sponsor, highlighted consumer information gaps and past safety issues such as the 2025 FDA recall of Indonesian shrimp contaminated with cesium-137.

Local chefs like Tom Worley of Sea Wolf Tybee argue that sourcing nearby improves quality, while others, such as Chase Crenshaw of Dockside Seafood, continue to buy Ecuadorian shrimp for cost reasons. DNA testing in 2025 revealed that many restaurants in Savannah and surrounding areas were serving non-American shrimp, bolstering the case for the new disclosure rule.