Enforcement set for January to give restaurants time to prepare
A Georgia state law that took effect July 1 requires restaurants around the state to disclose whether menu items they serve contain foreign imported shrimp. House Bill 117 applies to every Georgia restaurant except those operated by a state agency. Operators can place the disclosure on their printed menus or on signs visible to the public.
The law took effect July 1, but enforcement will not begin until January so restaurants have time to prepare. The bill does not prohibit restaurants from serving imported shrimp; it requires only that the foreign origin be disclosed on the menu or on signs visible to the public.
The measure addresses a market in which farm-raised foreign imports have driven down prices and made it difficult for local Georgia shrimpers to compete. The situation is most visible in coastal Savannah, where the region is known for both its hospitality and its shrimp-abundant waterways and estuaries — though not all restaurants along the coast source their seafood from local waters while allowing people to assume they do.
In downtown Savannah, chefs and restaurant owners at food service establishments that sell imported shrimp said they were in no hurry to update their menus, according to the Current. HB 117 allows restaurants to fulfill the disclosure requirement through posted signs rather than reprinted menus, an option written into the law.