Share and Follow
Federal regulators are urging consumers not to eat, sell or serve the raw frozen shrimp due to a possible contamination with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope.
WASHINGTON — Frozen raw shrimp sold at Walmart in several states may be contaminated with a radioactive isotope, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns.
The FDA issued a warning on Tuesday regarding possible exposure to Cesium-137, or Cs-137, detected in shipping containers and frozen shrimp products at four U.S. ports. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol alerted the FDA about the Cs-137 detection, and regulators collected samples from the container and the products, confirming the presence of the radioactive component in one sample of breaded shrimp, according to the press release.
The shrimp products were processed by Indonesia’s PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, known as BMS Foods.
Walmart confirmed that the recall only affects the following 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.
Federal regulators stated that no shrimp testing positive for Cs-137 has been allowed entry into the U.S. food supply. However, the FDA is still urging a recall of all the products from BMS Foods that were shipped after the company’s shipping containers tested positive for Cesium-137.
“The agency 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,” the FDA said Tuesday.
Additionally, the FDA has added BMS Foods to a new import alert for chemical contamination, which stopped the distributor’s products from entering the U.S.
Beaver Street Fisheries, LLC also recalled a limited quantity of Great Value Frozen Raw Shrimp EZ-Peel & Deveined Tail-On 21-25 Per lb Friday as a “precautionary measure.”
Walmart frozen shrimp recall:
Consumers should not eat or serve certain lots of Great Value raw frozen shrimp from Walmart:
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
- Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
- Great Value Frozen Raw Shrimp EZ-Peel & Deveined Tail-On 21-25 Per lb
Those who have recently purchased the recalled raw frozen shrimp from Walmart should throw them away immediately, the FDA said.
What is Cesium-137?
Cs-137 is a man-made radioactive isotope and trace amounts of it are found in soil, food and air, according to the FDA.
The levels detected in the breaded shrimp sample could pose a health concern if consumed over an extended period.
“The level of Cs-137 detected in the detained shipment was approximately 68 Bq/kg, which is below FDA’s Derived Intervention Level for Cs-137 of 1200 Bq/kg. At this level, the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers,” the FDA said in a statement. “Avoiding products like the shipment FDA tested with similar levels of Cs-137 is a measure intended to reduce exposure to low-level radiation that could have health impacts with continued exposure over a long period of time.”
The long-term effect of repeated low exposure to Cesium-137 is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body, the agency said.
