The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has pulled all of Walmart’s Great Value frozen breaded shrimp after a processor in Indonesia had its shipments intercepted at U.S. ports earlier this month and does not believe any product has entered commerce here in the U.S.
Acting quickly, the FDA urged consumers to avoid certain lots of the frozen shrimp brand after traces of radioactive cesium-137 were detected in imports from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS Foods), a seafood processor located in the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate in Serang, Banten province.
Customs and Border Protection officers intercepted the shrimp at U.S. ports earlier this month. Laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of cesium-137, a man-made radioactive isotope with a 30-year half-life. Although the detected levels (about 68 becquerels per kilogram) were well below the FDA’s safety threshold of 1,200 Bq/kg, regulators moved quickly to ensure no contaminated seafood reached American dinner tables, though at this point, it is unclear how the radioactive Cesium got into the food supply.
The FDA stressed that none of the affected shrimp entered U.S. commerce, but out of caution, it has advised a recall of related product codes. Three lots with a best-by date of March 15, 2027, have been identified and the agency has placed BMS Foods on an import alert, meaning future shipments will be detained until proven free of contamination.
At this stage, the FDA is conducting a full investigation in coordination with Indonesian regulators to determine how radioactive material entered the food chain. Officials have not yet identified whether the contamination arose at the shrimp farm level, during processing at the Serang plant, or from other environmental factors like the Chernobyl nuclear plant or the
For consumers, the episode highlights the strength of border testing and the FDA’s food-safety net. While the amounts detected do not pose an immediate health risk, the very presence of cesium-137 in a seafood product is enough to trigger serious questions—and firm regulatory action. – SF Staff Writers