Walmart shrimp could have radioactive contamination, FDA says

Certain Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp sold at Walmart stores in Pennsylvania could have radioactive contamination, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Tuesday.

The shrimp was possibly contaminated with Cesium-137, or Cs-137, a radioactive isotope. It was detected in a single shipment of imported frozen shrimp in shipping containers at four U.S. ports, including Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah and Miami, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which alerted the FDA.

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. “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.”

Though no shrimp that tested positive has entered the U.S. food supply, the FDA advisory said the public should not eat, sell or serve the frozen shrimp, which was imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, an Indonesian company that does business as BMS Foods.

Testing on frozen shrimp from the distributor also tested positive, ABC News reported.

The Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp affected have the best buy date of March 15. 2027, and include the following lot codes:

• 8005540-1
• 8005538-1
• 8005539-1

The product’s full name is “Frozen Raw Ez Peel Tail-On Farm-Raised White Vannamei Shrimp, 2lb bag,” according to the FDA.

They are sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia, according to the FDA.

“It 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,” the FDA said.

The FDA said it’s working with distributors and retailers who received the shrimp after the first detection date of Cs-137.

PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati was added by the FDA to a new import alert for chemical contamination to stop products from this firm from coming into the U.S. until the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation.

If anyone suspects they have been exposed to elevated levels of cesium, they should talk to their health care provider, the FDA said. There is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body, with repeated low dose exposure to Cs-137 through the consumption of contaminated food or water.