More shrimp recalled for possible radioactivity

Direct Source Seafood LLC, of Bellevue, WA, is recalling 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp, imported from Indonesia, sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brands because they may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with cesium-137 (Cs-137).

Cs-137 is a man-made radioisotope of cesium. The primary health effect of concern following longer term, repeated low dose exposure, such as through consumption of contaminated food or water over time, is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body.

For photos of the recalled shrimp, click here. There is concern that consumers may have the shrimp in their home freezers because of its long shelf life, which stretches into 2027.

The recalled frozen raw shrimp products are as follows:

Effective Oct. 31 the FDA started requiring import certifications for all shrimp and spices within certain parts of Indonesia because of the risk of radioactivity. The current recall notice did not state whether the newly recalled shrimp had been certified.

The move certification move came after levels of the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 were detected in shipping containers for shrimp and in a sample of cloves. More than 58 million pounds of shrimp have been shipped in the implicated containers.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already published seven recalls on shrimp associated with BMS Foods, the Indonesian importer ultimately found to be supplying the potentially contaminated shrimp. Also, the FDA recently detected Cs-137 in a sample of cloves from another Indonesian company, Natural Java Spice, and subsequently denied it permission to enter the United States.

Officials in Indonesia have determined that the problems stem from an accident that was out of the control of the implicated companies. 

The Indonesian government has cordoned off the industrial zone of Cikande, a town about 40 miles west of Jakarta, to clean up 10 sources of Cs-137. Nine people have been treated for radiation exposure.

The contamination appears to be the fault of Peter Metal Technology (PMT), a steel manufacturer in Cikande, that uses imported scrap metal as its primary raw material. It is likely that the cesium was accidentally incorporated into PMT’s waste stream at some point and then inadvertently smelted, according to Indonesia’s Ministry for Food.