FDA Recalls Walmart Shrimp Over Radiation Concerns

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has recalled shrimp sold under Walmart’s Great Value private label over concerns that the products may have been exposed to a radioactive isotope.

According to the FDA, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) detected Cesium-137 (Cs-137) in a single shipment of imported frozen shrimp from the Indonesian-based PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (doing business as BMS Foods). The products flagged were in shipping containers at ports in Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, and Miami, and did not enter the U.S.

The level of Cs-137 detected in the detained shipment was approximately 68 Bq/kg, which is below the FDA’s Derived Intervention Level for Cs-137 of 1,200 Bq/kg. At the 68 Bq/kg level, the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers.

However, the FDA said avoiding products 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.

Cs-137 is a radioisotope of cesium that is man-made through nuclear reactions, and because it is widespread worldwide, trace amounts can be found in the environment, including soil, food, and air. Bq/kg, or becquerels per kilogram, is a unit of specific activity that measures the radioactivity of a substance per unit of mass.

Walmart did receive implicated raw frozen shrimp, imported after the date of first detection of Cesium-137 by the CB, but from shipments that did not alert for Cesium-137. The FDA has recommended that Walmart recall this product, which was sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.

These products include the following lot codes and best-by dates:

• 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

Consumers who recently purchased raw frozen shrimp from Walmart that match the descriptions of the recalled items should dispose of the product.

After being alerted to the contamination of shipping containers detected by CBP, the FDA initiated sampling of products, which included five different shrimp products from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati. FDA's laboratory found Cs-137 in breaded shrimp at 68.48 Bq/kg +/- 8.25 Bq/kg. There was no detectable Cs-137 in the other products tested; however, this does not rule out contamination.

In conjunction with additional information, the FDA said it determined that the product from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati violates the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act as it appears to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with Cs-137.