Waste of the Day: Throwback Thursday - USDA Advertised Caviar
Topline: There is one major reason why most Americans do not regularly buy caviar: the price. Publicity is not the issue.
The Department of Agriculture ignored that fact in 2012, when it handed out $300,000 for an Idaho fish company to print flyers and create a website advertising its caviar. The money would be worth $565,000 today.
That’s according to the “Wastebook” reporting published by the late U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn. For years, these reports shined a white-hot spotlight on federal frauds and taxpayer abuses.
Coburn, the legendary U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, earned the nickname "Dr. No" by stopping thousands of pork-barrel projects using the Senate rules. Projects that he couldn't stop, Coburn included in his oversight reports.
Coburn's Wastebook 2012 included 100 examples of outrageous spending worth more than $18 billion, including Idaho’s fishy grant funding.
Key facts: The money came from the USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grants, which normally helps farmers reach new markets or create new products.
In this case, the money helped the company Fish Processors of Idaho travel to trade shows in Boston, Chicago and more to “set up booths and entice distributors to bring caviar to the masses.”
The small company had already found previous success. Even before the grant was awarded, Fish Processors of Idaho caviar was being sold in Seattle and New York and had drawn interest from Australia and Israel. President George H.W. Bush once served the company’s caviar at a party, according to Northwest Food News.
The grant was meant to boost Fish Processors of Idaho’s caviar sales from $150,000 per year to $1.5 million. It’s unclear whether that happened, as the store is a private business and does not have to share financial info. But the company is now selling caviar for up to $1,800 per tin.
The caviar grant was so expensive that it would be illegal today. Value-Added Producer Grants were capped at $250,000 in 2025.
Summary: Until Americans can afford basic groceries, the government should not be focused on the popularity of caviar.
The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
