WASHINGTON, Aug. 12 (Amy R. Connolly) — A North Carolina-based seafood processor was fined $100,000 and given three years probation after the company falsely mislabeled shrimp, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Alphin Brothers Inc., located in Dunn, N.C., must also forfeit 21,450 pounds of shrimp and implement a training program to educate employees about federal labeling requirements that order seafood retailers to provide the country of origin and method of production — whether wild caught or farm raised — for shellfish. The company pleaded guilty to one felony count of making or submitting a false record in violation of the Lacey Act.
The Justice Department said the an Alphin Brothers employee who purchased and sold shrimp for the company directed other employees to falsely label about 25,000 pounds of farm-raised shrimp as wild-caught products of the United States.
“The falsely labeled shrimp was later sold by Alphin Brothers in interstate commerce to customers in Louisiana,” the Justice Department said.
