Updated April 1, 2020

As the global focus on aquaculture sustainability increases, our efforts have increased as well.

America’s Catch has consistently been an industry leader in quality assurance, and we’ve always operated under strict government regulations as well as a number of self-imposed guidelines that go above and beyond industry standards. On our farm, for example, these processes include the constant monitoring of water quality, computerized oxygen levels checks, and periodic resurfacing of our ponds. The processing plant also incorporates a number of unique innovations that enhance our quality above all other processors. We will continue to lead the industry in ensuring that our customers receive the highest quality catfish available.

As the conversation has shifted to sustainability, again we are pushing beyond industry norms to set ourselves apart from the rest. Several years ago, our processing plant was certified under Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standards. During that time, we played a major role in moving toward an industry-wide comprehensive certification to include all domestic catfish farms, hatcheries, and feed mills. The industry has since moved away from such a desire, so as of last year, we started the process of having our own hatchery, farm, and feed mill certified.

We are pleased to report that as of November 2019, we are a 4-Star BAP Certified catfish processor, with our hatchery and farm being certified in 2018 and our feed mill being certified in November 2019. At this point, America’s Catch is one of only 2 US Farm-Raised Catfish processors in the industry to achieve 4-Star certification status – BAP’s highest level of certification.

At America’s Catch, we take pride in our position of leadership in this industry. We will always continue our efforts to maintain highest levels of quality in our products and our services to you – our customers. Our sustainability efforts are just another step in that process.

March 6, 2017 -- Chinese overuse of the human antibiotic of last resort colistin in feeds for fish raised for export has led to the development and spread worldwide of drug resistant bacteria, several recent studies report. Worse still, the colistin-resistant bacteria have, in turn, produced a transferable gene first discovered in China that can spread drug resistance to other organisms, according to America's Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Now, these drug-resistant genes have been found in bacteria living within humans in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Each year, about 700,000 people worldwide die from antibiotic-resistant infections, and that number is expected to soar well into the tens of millions in coming years.

In short, the Chinese aquaculture industry has "transformed what had been a hypothetical menace into a clear and present one: superbugs that are highly resistant to antibiotics," says Bloomberg Businessweek in a recent investigative report. Canadian researchers first discovered that Chinese seafood exports -- rather than the human travelers from China first suspected -- are the vectors spreading dangerous drug-resistant bacteria across the globe.

China produces about 60 percent of the world's farm-raised seafood and exports more to the U.S. than any other nation. China is our largest supplier of tilapia and a major source of catfish and shrimp imports. For more than a decade, the FDA has been routinely finding antibiotic-laden seafood imports from China and other Asian countries, which widely use Chinese feeds and aquaculture techniques. "Antibiotic-contaminated seafood keeps turning up at U.S. ports, as well as in restaurants and grocery stores," Bloomberg Businessweek concludes.

U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a safe, delicious 100-percent American-produced and processed alternative to imported seafood. For more information about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, visit UScatfish.com.

September 26, 2014 -- Eating two servings of fish each week may prevent hearing loss in women, according to new research from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston. The BWH study of 65,000 women over eight years found that those who regularly ate fish were 20 percent less likely to experience the potentially disabling effects of hearing loss than women who rarely ate fish.

"Consumption of any type of fish tended to be associated with lower risk," explained Sharon G. Curhan, MD, who led the study. "These findings suggest that diet may be important in the prevention of acquired hearing loss."

Low in mercury, sustainable and environmentally friendly, U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish from America’s Catch is a delicious product that provides the many health benefits associated with regularly eating fish. Because seafood imports can contain potentially hazardous additives and/or pollutants, consumers should always look for the country of origin and choose U.S. grown or sourced fish. For more information about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, visit UScatfish.com.

August 12, 2015 -- More than three-quarters (77.3 percent) of Chinese said food safety is the biggest threat to their quality of life, according to this year's annual survey of public attitudes by the government-owned China Youth Daily. Although the survey was conducted in March 2015, the results were only recently released to English-speaking media outlets.

"In over a decade of unnerving food scandals, the Chinese people have seen almost every form of poisonous or fake product, from rice contaminated with cadmium to restaurant dishes drenched in sewer oil to salmonella-tainted tilapia fish," explained The Epoch Times, an independent newspaper.

China is the largest supplier of farm-raised tilapia to the United States and a major supplier of other farmed seafood, including catfish. Earlier this year, North Carolina researchers found frozen Chinese tilapia and Vietnamese pangasius (a catfish-like species also sold as basa, tra and swai) tainted with the carcinogen formaldehyde for sale in mainstream U.S. supermarkets.

The FDA inspects about 2 percent of food imports, but only two-tenths of one-percent is subjected to laboratory testing. Food safety groups worry that the Trans Pacific Partnership, a 40 nation free trade treaty now being negotiated, will expose Americans to more unsafe Asian seafood.

Consumers should always check the country of origin of seafood they purchase. U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a reliably wholesome, healthy American grown and processed alternative to potentially dangerous imported seafood. For more information about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish, visit UScatfish.com.

Aug 12, 2015 Testing by an NBC affiliated consumer reporter and a North Carolina laboratory found unnaturally high amounts of formaldehyde in four of 15 samples of imported frozen white fish species purchased in national food retail store branches in Greensboro, NC, according to NBC-TV Charlotte. Formaldehyde-laced Vietnamese swai (a catfish-like species also known as pangasius, basa and tra) was found in three stores. Formaldehyde-tainted Chinese tilapia was also found in three stores.

Following the initial findings, the FDA was alerted. It conducted blind testing of fish found in supermarkets nationwide and found similar results. The FDA, responsible for imported seafood safety in the U.S., does not routinely test for formaldehyde, so there’s no limit on how much of the toxic chemical can be added to fish, NBC Charlotte reported.

“Some fish have small amounts of formaldehyde naturally,” explained consumer reporter Benjamin Briscoe. But, the lab — North Carolina-based Appealing Products, which developed food poison detection kits for the Department of Defense — says natural levels are so low they would not show up on the test. “Turns out, manufacturers in other countries sometimes add formaldehyde to make the fish last longer.”

The recent testing, first reported in April of this year, followed findings in September 2013 of unnatural formaldehyde amounts in frozen seafood imports from Vietnam and China on sale at mainstream food outlets in Raleigh, NC.

Vietnam is the largest supplier of the catfish-like species pangasius (basa, tra and swai) to the U.S., while China is the largest supplier of tilapia.

Consumers should always check the country of origin of seafood they purchase. U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is a reliably wholesome, healthy American grown and processed alternative to potentially dangerous imported seafood.