Indonesian officials say radioactive containers for shrimp were result of accident

The contamination of shipping containers with radioactive material that has resulted in several recalls of frozen shrimp has been traced to an accident in Indonesia.

Inspectors from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently discovered and detained several international food shipping containers that contained unusual levels of cesium-137. Cs-137 is a radioisotope of cesium that is man-made through nuclear reactions. It is used worldwide in industrial, medical and research applications. 

The discovery of the contamination, which occurred at several ports, was made through the use of nonintrusive inspection equipment and dedicated radiation detection systems. Experts from CBP’s Laboratories and Scientific Services identified the radioactive material and prevented some of the adulterated products from entering the United States. However, some shipments made it into the stream of commerce and had to be recalled.

The implicated shrimp came from PT. Bahari Makmur. According to Indonesian authorities, it is believed that the contamination was caused by an accident outside the company and was not under its direct control. The authorities have not released any other information about the situation. The accident is the subject of an ongoing investigation. 

At U.S. ports, radiation detection technologies are integral to CBP’s mission to combat nuclear and radiological terrorism and prevent radioactive materials from entering the country and potentially reaching U.S. consumers. By leveraging NII equipment and radiation detection systems, CBP was able to identify Cs-137 in shipping containers at several major U.S. ports — Los Angeles, Long Beach, Houston, Savannah, Norfolk, Elizabeth and Miami.

As a result of the work by CBP, the Food and Drug Administration has determined that products from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act in that the products appear to have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions and may pose a safety concern. PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati has also been added to Import Alert 99-51 for chemical contamination to ensure that no adulterated shrimp products will enter U.S. commerce until the company resolves the conditions that led to the contamination.

According to the FDA, at the level detected, Cs-137 would not pose an acute hazard to consumers but added that exposure to low-level radiation could have negative health impacts over time. The primary health concern following longer-term, repeated low-dose exposure of Cs-137 through the consumption of contaminated food or water is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to deoxyribonucleic acid within living cells of the body, according to the FDA.

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