(KPLC) – A company that aims to uncover seafood fraud recently tested 24 restaurants from Kotz Springs to Kinder and found half were selling imported shrimp, with only three being truthful about it.

SeaD Consulting sampled restaurants at random along U.S. 190 to determine whether establishments claiming to sell Gulf shrimp were serving the product they advertised.

“If you don’t want to eat the imported shrimp, you should be allowed to make a choice,” Dave Williams, commercial fishery scientist and founder of SeaD Consulting, said. “Some people want to eat farm-raised shrimp; they should be allowed to make a choice.”

The organization takes multiple DNA samples from shrimp species found only in specific locations, replicates the DNA sequence, and checks whether it appears in the shrimp being tested to find a match.

“What we’re doing is we actually test for the farm-raised Pacific white shrimp because they do not exist in the Gulf. If we find that, we know that it is not wild-caught American shrimp,” Williams said.

One restaurant that passed the test was Mo’s Crawfish in Eunice.

“Because we are Louisiana farmers, we know how harmful it can be if we choose to import. Number one, it’s a cheaper product,” Katherine Hundley, owner of Mo’s, said. “We are definitely more about quality than quantity.”

Michael Hundley, co-owner of Mo’s, said the restaurant wants to support Louisiana shrimpers.

“We just want to take care of the Louisiana product,” he said. “We as farmers – we’re rice farmers and crawfish farmers – we know the effect of buying locally, and we want to support the Louisiana shrimpers just like the Louisiana crawfisherman.”

Louisiana law mandates that restaurants disclose if they sell imported shrimp or face a fine.

“If people want to be honest about what they’re serving, don’t put pictures up on the wall or nets, or things like that. Show a picture of a pond in Vietnam,” Williams said.

Louisiana lawmakers are cracking down on the mislabeling of imported shrimp. House Bill 857, authored by Rep. Tim Kerner (R-Lafitte), would require that domestic and imported seaffood which are mixed together cannot be labeled as solely domestic. If labeled incorrectly, the processor or distributor would face penalties.

HB 857 advanced to the Senate following a unanimous vote in the House. At last check, it’s been referred to the Committee on Natural Resources.

• A rocket largely built in Louisiana is powering the Artemis II mission to the moon.
• NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans manufactured nearly 90 percent of the rocket.
• Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar mission since the final Apollo mission in 1972.
• The mission’s crew is expected to travel farther from Earth than any previous human spaceflight.

A rocket built in Louisiana is powering Artemis II’s trip to the moon.

Nearly 90 percent of the rocket powering the mission was manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, which is known as “America’s Rocket Factory.”

“For generations, Louisiana has played a central role in America’s aerospace industry, anchored by NASA’s work at Michoud,” Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois said. “That history has built a skilled workforce, strong supplier networks and advanced manufacturing capabilities across the state. Artemis II reflects that foundation — and signals the opportunity ahead as Louisiana continues to grow its aerospace economy.”

NASA made history on April 1 when it launched a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day expedition around the moon and back, the agency’s first lunar launch since its last Apollo mission in 1972.

Michoud is an 829-acre facility located near downtown New Orleans that has a national economic impact of more than $507 million, according to Hansel Gill, director of NASA Michoud Assembly Facility.

“We are grateful for this opportunity to help strengthen our ties with the community,” Gill said in a statement.

New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno held a watch party in her office for the April 1 launch, pointing to the blazing rocket during lift off.

“Incredibly proud that NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans East constructed the rocket that will send Artemis II to the moon,” Moreno said in a statement. “The team at Michoud is once again showing the level of innovation possible right here in New Orleans. Let this be a reminder that big things are possible in New Orleans, and when we’re all in, the sky, or even the moon, is the limit.”

Artemis II crew members are expected to travel “farther from Earth than any previous human mission,” according to NASA.

The expedition will send the crew about 252,000 miles into space, which will break the record set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970, when it was roughly 248,000 miles from Earth.

Meta Louisiana data center: Meta, Entergy announce massive expansion at Louisiana AI data center

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A COVID variant called Cicada has been detected in Louisiana, prompting health officials to monitor its spread.

The variant gets its name from the insect because doctors say it has been lurking underground, surfacing slowly and retreating without triggering a major wave.

“I think it’s just possibly the next surge or wave, but it’s not going to cause any more increased hospitalization or deaths from this variant,” said Dr. Rubin Patel, CEO of Patient Plus Urgent Care.

COVID numbers declining

Patel said COVID numbers have tailed off dramatically over the last two months. The Cicada variant makes up about 10% of all COVID cases in the country.

Researchers are watching Cicada closely. The variant carries 70 to 75 mutations in its spike protein, the part of the virus that helps it enter human cells. That level of mutation raises questions about how well existing vaccines will hold up against it.

“The vaccine hasn’t been created against this variant. The variants previously, that’s what’s in the vaccine. So yes, it’s not going to be as effective, but whether it’s herd immunity, whether it’s vaccine immunity, whether it’s just an individual that’s had multiple versions of COVID, you’ll have some protection in that manner,” Patel said.

Variant affecting children

Health officials are saying the variant seems to be mostly infecting children, but doctors say researchers are still trying to understand why.

The symptoms look familiar: fever, chills, cough, congestion, shortness of breath, nausea, and fatigue — the same signs seen with other variants.

“The biggest thing is it’s not causing any more significant hospitalizations or deaths,” Patel said.

Patel said COVID has a history of spiking around August when school is back in session.

“They’re wondering if this could, with its, like you were saying, with the spike protein and all the mutations within it, could it become that new, that new surge, that new wave that dominates over 50% of the cases?” Patel said.

Doctors say there is no need to panic yet, but they urge people to stay alert, especially when kids head back to school in the fall.

The Louisiana Department of Health recommends staying up to date on all vaccinations, practicing good hand hygiene, and staying home when sick.

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