Members of the Safe Food Coalition today urged Senate leaders to reject a motion that would nullify a final rule implementing a mandatory inspection program for products made from catfish and other fish of the order Siluriformes. Congress transferred regulation of catfish from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) as part of the 2008 Farm Bill. Critics have claimed that the regulation is wasteful, however, the mandatory inspection program fills an important gap. In recent years, FDA has tested just 0.1% of imported seafood for drug residues. Government officials, however, have estimated that fully 9% of catfish imports test positive for illegal chemical residues. Under the FSIS mandatory inspection program, both domestic and foreign catfish producers will be subject to more rigorous standards, which USDA officials have estimated will protect millions of consumers from exposure to antibiotic and other harmful chemical residues.