Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson and BP officials announced Monday the company will give the state $20 million over the next three years to test seafood.
The agreement includes $10 million for testing and $10 million for marketing in order to boost consumer confidence in Gulf Coast seafood products.
Over the last few weeks weve been meeting on this issue, and weve come up with what I think is a good agreement. For one thing, the state of Florida is not going to have to come up with taxpayer dollars for testing, Bronson said.
Under the agreement, BP will reimburse Florida for testing expenses over the next three years. It comes on the heels of a letter Bronson sent to BP earlier this year outlining Floridas food-safety plans, which included testing to determine if oil residue or chemical dispersants reside in seafood products. The testing will be conducted on shrimp, crabs, oysters, and dozens of species of finfish, according to a press release.
Bronson stressed that no oil has been found in Florida seafood so far, but the money is needed not only for testing but to restore confidence in a public wary of Gulf products in the aftermath of the oil spill that dominated headlines for much of the year.
We believe this is going to be part of a great process, a healing process, that will regain peoples confidence in Gulf Coast products, Bronson said.
If any oil or chemicals are found in Floridas seafood products, however, BPs commitment will be extended for another three years.
BP officials said the agreement is unique right now, but is likely to be the first of several other agreements with other Gulf states.
Were working with all of the Gulf states on similar type programs. But yes, this is the first agreement we have agreed with on a state, said Jeff Morgheim, BPs director of planning and economics.
Bronson, who originally asked for $59 million for testing over 10 years in his letter, noted that the money from BP does not preclude the state from receiving funds for other damages related to the oil spill, nor does it affect the efforts of businesses or individuals to receive money for spill-related damages.
The agreement, however, does not address any costs incurred by the state for testing seafood products during the course of the spill. Bronson explained the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies did most of the testing.
We conducted some tests on seafood, yes, but the FDA also brought in a lot of tests, not just the state of Florida, Bronson said.
Eight days away from a general election, the agreement did not go unnoticed by U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, the Republican nominee for Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The aquaculture industry employs thousands of Floridians all along our coasts and throughout the state. This settlement highlights the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services dual mission of protecting our consumers from unhealthy products and promoting Florida-raised commodities. In this case, both missions are well-served, Putnam said.
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Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859
