The Food and Drug Administration announced another recall involving frozen shrimp sold at grocery stores across the United States. More than 85,000 pounds of shrimp are involved in the latest recall, adding to multiple shrimp recalls announced in the last several weeks.
The latest recall, announced on Sept. 20, impacts the following three packages of frozen shrimp:
Approximately 49,920 bags (net wt. 2lbs) of Kroger Raw Colossal EZ Peel Shrimp.
Approximately 18,000 bags (net wt. 2lbs) of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp.
Approximately 17,264 bags (net wt. 1.25lbs) of AquaStar Raw Peeled Tail-on Shrimp Skewers.
The recalled products were produced by Seattle-based AquaStar (USA) Corp and sold at Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Foodsco, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, Gerbes, Jay C, King Soopers, Kroger, Mariano’s, Metro Market, Pay Less Supermarkets, Pick ‘n Save, Ralphs, Smith’s and QFC stores.
The products were available in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
The full list of UPC’s, lot codes, and best buy dates for the latest recalled items can be found here.
Consumers who purchased the recalled items should not eat them and are advised to either dispose of the shrimp or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
The shrimp are being recalled 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 radioisotope of cesium that is man-made through nuclear reactions. Although trace amounts can be found in the environment, including soil, food, and air, the FDA monitors for the radioisotope. Any unexpected findings of the radioisotope may require further testing.
The FDA warns that the primary health risk from consuming Cs-137 from “longer term, repeated low dose exposure (e.g., 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.”
So far, no illnesses have been reported in connection with the issue, according to the FDA.
The latest recall comes after the FDA made four prior announcements for shrimp possibly contaminated with Cs-137. On Aug. 19, the FDA warned of possible contaminated shrimp involving products sold at Walmart locations nationwide. Three days later, an actual recall was announced.
On Aug. 21, California-based Southwind Foods LLC. recalled several of its shrimp products over the same concern. A day later, Walmart added three more lots of frozen shrimp to its recall list.
On Aug. 29, Aquastar recalled shrimp sold at Kroger stores in 17 states, while cocktail shrimp products sold at Walmart stores in 27 states were recalled.