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Radioactive Isotope Possibly Linked to Walmart Frozen Shrimp

FDA Issues Warning About Shrimp Sold at Walmart Because of Radioactive Concerns

FDA will continue working with the industry to trace all implicated products

The FDA has issued a warning about shrimp imported from Indonesia and sold at some Walmart stores because it could be contaminated with radiation.


The Food and Drug Administration is actively investigating reports of Cesium-137 (Cs-137) contamination in shipping containers and frozen shrimp products processed by PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, doing business as BMS Foods, of Indonesia. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) alerted FDA to the detection of Cs-137 in shipping containers at four U.S. ports — Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah and Miami. The FDA collected multiple samples for radionuclide analysis, with results confirming the presence of Cs-137 in one sample of breaded shrimp. All containers and product testing positive or alerting for Cs-137 have been denied entry into the country. The FDA continues to coordinate with CBP to prevent any contaminated products from reaching consumers and is working with Indonesian seafood regulatory authorities to investigate the root cause of the contamination. Although testing to date has not confirmed the presence of contamination in any product in commerce, the product appears to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with Cs-137 and may pose a safety concern.

To date, the FDA has learned that Walmart has received implicated raw frozen shrimp, imported after the date of first detection of Cs-137 by CBP, but from shipments that did not alert for Cs-137. The FDA has recommended Walmart recall this product.
The implicated Great Value raw frozen shrimp was sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.


FDA has not detected Cs-137 in any product above the current derived intervention levels for Cs-137 (1200 Bq/kg); however, FDA has concluded that the level detected in the breaded shrimp sample could represent a potential health concern for those exposed to this level of Cs-137 from consumption of the shrimp over an extended period of time combined with radiation that exists in the environment and from other sources such as medical procedures.


Visit the original Food Safety News article for lot numbers of implicated products and more details of the investigation:

https://www.foodsafetynews.com
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