COVID-19 may be one of the reasons why a cluster of seafood companies was sued last week by Attorney General Xavier Becerra for reportedly failing to warn consumers about toxic chemicals in ocean food products, according to a legal expert.
“We've learned from the COVID-19 processes that a lot of people are far more vulnerable to these carcinogens than others and they should be given the opportunity to make the decision as to whether they really want to put this food in their bodies,” Lancaster City attorney and Mayor Rex Parris said.
As of Jan. 6, California had 2,482,226 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, resulting in 27,462 deaths, according to the state's COVID-19 dashboard. The number of COVID-related deaths increased by 1.7% from the prior day total of 27,003
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties against Pacific American Fish Company, Rhee Bros, Seaquest Seafood Corporation, Jayone Foods, and Clearwater Seafoods for allegedly violating the state’s Unfair Competition Law and Proposition 65, which requires businesses to warn consumers about harmful chemicals.
“But until the government actually enforces the laws that are on the books, they're worthless,” Parris told the Southern California Record.
Becerra did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, Parris is chairman of the board of Carthronix, which manufactures an anti-aging skin regeneration product called Heraux with all-natural ingredients.
“The lawsuit puts the focus on the oceans,” Parris said in an interview. “If every time you order fish, you see something that says you might be poisoning yourself, it puts your attention on what we are doing to clean up the oceans.”
The products in question include, but are not limited to, clam, cuttlefish, eel, goby fish, krill, mussel, octopus, oyster, periwinkle, sea squirt, sillago, silverfish, snail, and squid.
“They contain lead and cadmium, exposing Californians to dangerous heavy metals in the seafood they consume,” Deputy Attorney General Yuting Chi wrote in the Dec. 28 complaint. “The State of California has an interest in promoting the health of its residents. To that end, California seeks to reduce or eliminate the sale of seafood products containing lead and/or cadmium to consumers in California without warnings.”
The pleading requests that defendants and other companies be prohibited from selling seafood products containing lead or cadmium in California without providing a warning.
“It may have no financial impact at all but they do have to disclose it and if you disclose these things are in the food product, people may or may not buy it but the whole reason for warning the consumer is to let the consumer make that choice,” Parris said.