[X-spurt]

Answer my questions about your unusual interest in being able to skirt existing laws and import unsafe “catfish like” fish being sold as catfish everywhere.

You import Chinese melamine dog food too?

Yes, sometimes it is necessary for government to step in to protect the citizens.

[Olog-hai]

I’d like to know how any of this will prevent the aforementioned skirting of import laws, since saying so declares that laws sufficiently robust are already in place and need to be enforced. Can restaurants afford the paper audit trail, and is the paper trail necessary? Do the restaurants import directly from the questionable source countries? What controls are being “skirted” at port? Too many missing details. And the law itself contains some interesting language, to say the least.

The commissioner may require that any person that prepares, stores, handles or distributes catfish or fish for retail sale maintain a verifiable record-keeping audit trail that permits the commissioner to verify compliance with this law and any regulations promulgated hereunder.

Suspicion over expansion of government does not mean that one has a vested interest or an ulterior motive. Lauding expansion of government is quite suspect, though.

From the Reason.com article:

Though the law was intended to protect Delta residents like Ellis and his family from foreign competitors, its unintended consequences will likely impose new costs for these same people in the form of greater liability, thousands of dollars in potential fines, and confusing or impossible record-keeping requirements. …

Now is this true? Valid question.