More companies pull thousands of packages of shrimp for potential
radioactive contamination
[August 30, 2025]
By JONEL ALECCIA
More companies are recalling tens of thousands of packages of imported
shrimp sold at Walmart, Kroger and other U.S. stores because they may
contain radioactive contamination, according to federal notices.
AquaStar USA Corp. of Seattle is recalling more than 26,000 packages of
refrigerated cocktail shrimp sold at Walmart stores in 27 states between
July 31 and Aug. 16. The company is also recalling about 18,000 bags of
Kroger-branded cooked, medium peeled, tail-off shrimp sold at stores in
17 states between July 24 and Aug. 11.
At the same time, H&N Group Inc., a wholesale seafood distributor in
Vernon, California, is recalling more than 17,000 cases of frozen shrimp
sold to grocery stores on the East Coast, according to a notice from the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That recall began on Aug. 12.
The products have been pulled because they may be contaminated with
Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope that is a byproduct of nuclear
reactions. The risk appears to be small, but the shrimp could pose a
“potential health concern” for people exposed to low levels of
Cesium-137 over time, FDA officials said.
The FDA issued a safety alert this month warning consumers not to eat
certain frozen shrimp imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, an
Indonesian company doing business as BMS Foods. Cesium-137 was detected
in shipping containers from the company sent to U.S. ports and in a
sample of frozen breaded shrimp.
FDA has also added PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati to a new import alert for
chemical contamination to stop products from this firm from coming into
the U.S.
It remains unclear how the containers or the shrimp became contaminated.
Federal officials said they are investigating and declined to respond to
detailed questions from The Associated Press about the source or extent
of the contamination.
None of the shrimp that triggered alerts or tested positive for
Cesium-137 was released for sale, the FDA said. But other shipments sent
to stores may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed the
products to become contaminated, the agency said.
[to top of second column]
|
This combination of photos provided by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, shows labels for Kroger
Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp recalled by AquaStar
USA Corp. of Seattle. (FDA via AP)
 Officials with U.S. Customs and
Border Protection first detected the potential radioactive
contamination in shipping containers sent to U.S. ports in Los
Angeles, Houston, Miami and Savannah, Georgia. Customs officials
alerted the FDA, which conducted tests of packaged shrimp and
confirmed Cesium-137 in a single sample.
Experts in nuclear radiation agreed that the health risk is low, but
said it's important to determine the source of the contamination and
share that information with the public.
The level of Cesium-137 detected in the frozen shrimp was about 68
becquerels per kilogram, a measure of radioactivity. That is far
below the FDA's level of 1,200 becquerels per kilogram that could
trigger the need for health protections.
It is unusual to see this concentration of Cesium-137 in shrimp,
said Steve Biegalski, who chairs the Nuclear and Radiological
Engineering and Medical Physics program at the Georgia Institute of
Technology. Routine levels detected in shrimp from the Pacific Ocean
are about 100 times lower than those found in the BMS shrimp,
according to the American Nuclear Society.
“We sometimes can see Cesium-137 from historic nuclear weapons
fallout, nuclear accidents such as Fukushima or Chernobyl, but the
levels in the environment are super, super, super low right now and
cannot explain what's going on here,” Biegalski said.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
