FDA urges recall of Walmart shrimp from Indonesia over radioactive contamination fear

The Food and Drug Administration has warned the public not to consume a brand of frozen shrimp sold at Walmart stores in 13 states because it may have been exposed to radioactive material.

The FDA recommended in a notice Tuesday that Walmart recall three lots of Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp processed by the Indonesian company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, saying that it detected the radioactive isotope Cesium-137, or Cs-137, in a single shipment of the product that “did not enter U.S. commerce.”

Though the level of Cs-137 detected would not have posed an acute health risk to consumers, the FDA said, it could cause potential problems if contaminated shrimp were consumed over an extended period of time. It said no product that has tested positive or alerted for Cs-137 has been sold in the United States, but did not rule out the possibility that other shipments could have been exposed and said it is investigating.

The FDA advised consumers who bought the product not to eat it and to throw it away. It said the product was sold in Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.

In a statement Wednesday, Walmart said it issued a sales restriction and removed the product from its stores. “The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority,” the company said, adding that it is working with its supplier to investigate the incident.

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope created during nuclear fission. It is used in radiation therapy for cancers, as well as in medical equipment and industrial gauges. It can be found in small quantities in the air, soil and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But exposure to large, concentrated quantities of Cs-137 is dangerous: It can increase the risk of cancer and can cause burns, acute radiation sickness and even death, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The FDA said it was first alerted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents that Cs-137 was detected in shipping containers at ports in Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Savannah. The agency conducted tests and confirmed the presence of Cs-137 in one sample of breaded shrimp, which “appears to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated,” it said.

BMS Foods, the operating name of PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, did not immediately respond to a request for comment made outside of business hours on Wednesday.

The FDA said the concentration of Cs-137 it detected in the affected sample was far lower than the levels at which the agency’s own guidelines recommend introducing protective measures for consumers. But it said it had taken action because repeated low dose exposure to Cs-137, including through consuming contaminated food or water over time, can cause “an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body.”

Walmart received shipments of the Great Value brand’s frozen raw shrimp after the Cs-137 contamination was first detected by CBP, but those shipments “did not alert for Cs-137,” the FDA said, adding that those batches should be recalled.

The agency said its investigation is ongoing. It said it has temporarily restricted imports into the U.S. from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, and it is working with Indonesian seafood regulatory authorities to find the source of the contamination.