Hey everyone! The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is telling us to be careful. There might be some frozen shrimp with a radioactive isotope called Cesium - 137 (Cs - 137).
The FDA got a heads - up when the U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) found Cs - 137 in shipping containers at ports in Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, and Miami. One sample of breaded shrimp tested positive for Cs - 137 and was stopped from entering the country.
The frozen shrimp in question is the "Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp" from Indonesia, sold at Walmart. Some lots of this shrimp are thought to have been prepared, packed, or stored in unclean conditions, which could lead to Cs - 137 contamination.
The FDA says don't eat these Walmart products:
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540 - 1, "Best By" date: Mar. 15, 2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538 - 1, "Best By" date: Mar. 15, 2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539 - 1, "Best By" date: Mar. 15, 2027
These were sold in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
If you bought this Great Value - branded frozen shrimp from Walmart, don't eat it. You can either throw it away or take it back to where you bought it for a refund.
No shrimp sold in U.S. stores have tested positive for Cs - 137 yet, but the FDA issued the warning just to be safe. The shrimp that tested positive had 68 Bq/kg of Cs - 137, which is less than the FDA's limit of 1,200 Bq/kg. The FDA says this small amount probably won't harm consumers right away, but long - term radiation exposure is a concern.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says even low - level radiation can increase the risk of cancer and cause acute radiation syndrome.
The FDA is working with the shrimp's supplier, PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, and the Indonesian seafood regulatory authorities to figure out how this contamination happened.
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