Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss.
As his primary election approaches on Tuesday, Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Thad Cochran, R-Miss., noted late last week that the Agriculture Department has sent the rule that would shift catfish inspection from the Food and Drug Administration to the Office of Management and Budget, and that catfish is now available through the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program.

In a news release Friday after a meeting of the Delta Council, Cochran noted that Agriculture Deputy Secretary Krysta Hardin recently told the Delta Council that USDA has forwarded the new rule to OMB.

“As more nations restrict the import of tainted catfish-like products, the implementation of a more vigorous American inspection program makes sense,” Cochran said. “I will continue to pressure the Obama administration to let this food safety program get underway.”

Cochran also noted he had inserted language in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2015 Agriculture appropriations bill directing USDA to purchase domestically-produced catfish fillets and make them available to local food networks through TEFAP.

“Catfish is an appropriate source of good protein to help families in need. I think this simple language can work to expand the market for the Mississippi-produced catfish,” said Cochran, who added that the Senate may take up the Agriculture appropriations bill in June or July.

The National Fisheries Institute, which opposes the shift, noted today in a news release that the rule says it is likely to have an impact on international trade.

Cochran faces Chris McDaniel, a tea-party backed candidate, in what has become one of the nastiest primary races.

▪ Mandatory Inspection of Catfish and Catfish Products
▪ National Public Radio — In Mississippi, a Senate Race Derailed by a Blogger’s Photos