A new federal seafood-labeling law will make some of those purchasing decisions a bit easier by letting you know more about the fish you buy.

What's the difference between imported seafood and domestic?

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Recipes: Paula's Angel Dessert  Mini Burgers on Toasted Discs  Doris' Fudge Pie  Mini Rachaels  Related: • Seafood tips • More on food and drink • Search ajc.com's recipes Why label just seafood? Seafood is just the start of country-of-origin labeling. Starting in September 2006, beef, lamb, pork, fruit, vegetables and peanuts must be labeled, too. How will seafood be labeled? It's up to the retailer or packager, as long as the food is conspicuously labeled. This could include a label on a package of frozen seafood or a sign in a fresh seafood case. Publix, for example, is placing signs in seafood cases and also printing the information on package labels for items bought at its seafood counters. Who must label? Large supermarkets, basically. The labeling law covers any company subject to a 1930 law defining licensed retailers. If a retailer sells $230,000 of produce annually — a definition that covers about 37,000 U.S. stores — it must label. Who's exempt? Seafood markets, butcher shops, restaurants and supermarket delis. Why not seafood markets, which would seem an obvious choice? They aren't subject to that 1930 law.

There are no simple rules of thumb here. Let's start with freshness. Cheaper imported seafood, such as shrimp, is almost always frozen. Expensive imported fin fish, such as tuna, may be flown in fresh daily. Other fin fish may be previously frozen and thawed for sale.

"Buying locally doesn't necesssarily mean it's going to be fresher," says chef Pano Karatassos of Kyma.

"If you're getting a line-caught fish flown in from the Mediterranean, you could get it two or three days out of the water. You may get a local fish that was on a long boat, meaning two to three weeks, before it came to the coast, and then [was] driven another day or two."

At Kyma, Karatassos serves fish flown in daily from the Mediterranean, which fits in with the restaurant's Greek theme, as well as seafood from other waters. (Kyma's corporate parent, Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, operates its own seafood wholesale operation and also sells some fish retail at the Atlanta Fish Market.)

For Bacchanalia and its retail market, Star Provisions, Anne Quatrano prefers fresh local fish in season.

Safety is another area where there may be differences between imported and domestic seafood. The FDA inspects about 1 percent of imported seafood, testing for residues of unapproved drugs as well as checking to see if the food is still fit for consumption and held at the proper temperature. The FDA inspects U.S. seafood processors every one to five years.

A March 2004 report from the Government Accountability Office said the FDA was making progress in improving its imported seafood safety programs but criticized the agency for failing to move fast enough to establish agreements with other countries to ensure that their seafood safety programs met the same standards as U.S. seafood producers. A 2001 GAO report said the FDA's seafood safety programs failed to protect consumers.

The most recent report also said that the FDA didn't act fast enough to turn back potentially contaminated products when problems were found; it took nearly a year to notify inspectors at ports of entry about safety problems with six firms.

An FDA spokesman said imported seafood is held to the same standards as domestic seafood. Setting up seafood safety agreements with other countries (something the U.S. Department of Agriculture already does with imported beef, chicken, lamb and other meats) will take years, the spokesman said.

Many grocery stores and restaurant chains rely on third-party audits to ensure that suppliers in other countries are complying with food safety guidelines. Want to know what your grocery store does? Ask, then decide if you're comfortable with its safeguards.

More than 80 percent of all seafood that Americans eat comes from other countries, and nearly 90 percent of all shrimp. Here's a look at how country-of-origin labeling might affect a couple of popular seafood choices:

Red snapper

This fish, available only from the southern Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, carries a premium price because of its taste and scarcity. For that reason, less expensive fish is often substituted and mislabeled as red snapper.

A 2004 University of North Carolina study found that 75 percent of the red snapper sampled in U.S. supermarkets was mislabeled.

Country-of-origin laws might provide a tip-off if a fish is mislabeled. If it's labeled red snapper and comes from the Pacific Ocean, for example, then it's not red snapper. Mislabeling a fish is covered under other laws, but industry experts believe the new law will encourage more processors and retailers to label correctly, because there is a $10,000 fine for each violation.

Shrimp

The most popular seafood in the United States has surged in favor as prices have dropped because of cheaper imported shellfish. Americans eat 4 pounds of shrimp on average each year, and nearly 90 percent of that is imported.

While much imported seafood is of excellent quality, microbiologists, government agencies and domestic shrimpers have raised concerns about potential health issues related to imported farmed shrimp, including antibiotic use and food-safety standards that may not be as stringent as U.S. requirements.

A 2001 FDA study found that 7 percent of farm-raised shrimp contained salmonella bacteria. Less than 1 percent of wild shrimp had the bacteria. A 2001 report from a panel of government and university microbiologists said the salmonella bacteria could be present because chicken manure is often used as a fertilizer for aquaculture ponds in tropical countries.

Want more advice?

Monterey [Calif.] Bay Aquarium's Web site discusses sustainability, health issues and other factors affecting seafood choice and offers a list of best and acceptable buys, as well as fish to avoid.

Chef's Collaborative offers a primer on farming methods, environmental impact, seafood supply and fishing methods through its sustainable-seafood program. You'll also find tips for choosing farmed and wild fish, as well as links to other helpful Web resources.