South Carolina restaurants will soon be required to tell customers whether the shrimp they serve is locally caught or imported under a new state law aimed at increasing transparency and supporting the state’s commercial shrimping industry.
Gov. Henry McMaster recently signed the Truth in Shrimp Labeling Act into law after it received overwhelming approval during the 2026 legislative session.
The law requires restaurants, cafeterias, food trucks, food stands and other food service establishments serving imported shrimp to post a notice at their entrance and identify the shrimp’s country of origin on their menus. Restaurants serving both domestic and imported shrimp must notify customers that some menu items contain imported shrimp, while establishments serving only imported shrimp must clearly disclose that fact.
The legislation follows last year’s “Shrimpgate” investigation, which found only four of 44 tested restaurants were serving local, wild-caught shrimp. A second round of testing earlier this year showed improvement, but 77% of restaurants sampled were still serving imported shrimp.
Supporters say the new labeling requirements will help consumers make informed decisions while giving South Carolina shrimpers a fair opportunity to compete against lower-cost imported products.
Restaurants have 120 days from the law’s signing to comply, making the deadline Oct. 28. Businesses that fail to comply will receive an initial warning and three days to correct the violation. Repeat violations may result in fines ranging from $100 to $5,000.
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