Half of Alexandria restaurants tested serve imported shrimp

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KLFY) — If you go to Alexandria for a nice plate of Gulf shrimp, chances are about 50/50 that you’ll get any.

According to a recent study by SeaD Consulting, 11 out of 24 restaurants tested (46%) were serving authentic Gulf shrimp, while 13 restaurants (54%) were serving imported or mislabeled shrimp, often without disclosure.

Houston-based SeaD Consulting has developed a Rapid ID Genetics High-accuracy Test that can determine the species of shrimp within two hours. The company has been using the new technology to see which Louisiana restaurants are serving Gulf shrimp and which are serving imported shrimp.

SeaD Consulting tested shrimp dishes from 24 restaurants across Alexandria and nearby Pineville on June 3-4.

While some Alexandria establishments correctly disclosed their shrimp origins, several were found to be misleading diners, implying local product where none was used — a violation of Louisiana menu labeling laws. The study found 7 out of the 24 labeled imports and 6 out of the 24 were explicitly fraudulent.

These Alexandria and Pineville restaurants were found to be serving authentic Gulf shrimp:

• Brocato’s Breakfast – 5515 Coliseum Blvd., Alexandria
• Bucket’s Crawfish & Seafood – 111 Maryhill Road, Pineville
• Crawfish Port, Inc. – 4731 Lee St., Alexandria
• Crazy Cajun Pineville – 6300 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville
• Deborge’s Crawfish – 1807 Andrew St., Alexandria
• Koal’s Bar-B-Que – 5803 Coliseum Blvd., Alexandria
• Pit Grill Diner – 2360 N. MacArthur Drive, Alexandria
• Red River Seafood & Sushi – 110 Versailles Blvd., Suite F, Alexandria
• Rosie Jo’s – 3140 S. MacArthur Drive, Alexandria
• Rotolo’s Craft & Crust – 112 Versailles Blvd., Suite A, Alexandria
• Swamp Daddy’s Crawfish – 55 MacArthur Drive, Alexandria

The findings put Alexandria on par with other cities in the state, compared with Baton Rouge’s 30% inauthenticity rate, and Lafayette’s 33%, but far behind New Orleans, which had only 13% of restaurants serving mislabeled shrimp.

Rodney Olander, Chair of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force, which funded the investigation, said supporting restaurants that serve local wild-caught shrimp is critical to sustaining Gulf fishing communities and the working watermen behind them.

“This is about trust,” Olander said. “Alexandria is a proud river city with deep Louisiana roots, and its people deserve to know when they’re getting wild-caught Gulf shrimp — or when they’re being served imported farm-raised substitutes passed off as local. Having one in four restaurants being explicitly fraudulent is not right.”

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