Walmart recalls shrimp over possible radioactive contamination

Certain Great Value raw frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart are being recalled due to possible contamination with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.

The alert follows a notification from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which detected potential Cs-137 contamination in shipping containers at four US ports.

Subsequent testing on frozen shrimp from BMS Foods, an Indonesian distributor, also returned positive results for the radioactive substance. Despite these findings, the FDA confirmed that no contaminated shrimp have entered the US food supply.

The FDA continues to advise recalling all BMS Foods products shipped after the company’s containers tested positive for Cesium-137, even though the individual products have not shown contamination.

The following Great Value brand frozen shrimp products sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia should not be eaten:

Consumers who have purchased these products should throw them away immediately.

The FDA has also imposed a ban on all future imports from BMS Foods until the company addresses the conditions that led to the contamination risk.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to significant amounts of Cs-137 can cause burns, acute radiation sickness, and, in severe cases, death.