Imported seafood

We already import about 80 percent of our seafood. But the oil spill is expected to drive that number higher.

Chef Robey says he'll take seafood off the menu before he serves imports.

"I'm nervous about, like, how that seafood was handled, how it was fed, if it was farmed raised," says Robey. "I mean every day there's some kind of recall one or another coming from China."

He may have reason to be nervous.

"I think it's really a 'buyer beware' issue," says Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Washington DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Safety concerns

DeWaal says when state regulators tested imported shrimp they found it was contaminated with antibiotics and other chemical residues that are illegal in the U.S. According to Dewaal, there is evidence some imported shrimp are grown in contaminated ponds.

Supporters of the industry say - while some tests have caught problems - that doesn't mean all imported seafood is bad.

Norbert Sporns say there's no need to worry. He's CEO of a Seattle-based company called HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries.

They farm tilapia - mostly in China. Sporns says the U.S. has an international certification process that is rigorous and will catch potential problems.

"Prior to export, we are subject to a series of tests," says Sporns. "Once a product lands in the United States, there are other tests that can be administered by the FDA on a spot-check basis. So there are multiple levels of security in place."