JAKARTA (Jakarta Post/ANN): The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has once again recalled frozen shrimp imported from Indonesia over radioactive contamination concerns, renewing scrutiny over food safety and export oversight.
The FDA said on Friday that the recall involved 83,800 units of frozen shrimp distributed by Direct Source Seafood LLC and sold under the “Market 32” and “Waterfront Bistro” brands, citing potential exposure to Cesium-137 (Cs-137).
According to the FDA notice, the affected products were sold in at least 18 US states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon and Utah.
Cs-137 is a man-made radioactive isotope produced through nuclear reactions. Trace amounts can be found globally in soil, food and the atmosphere.
Indonesia does not possess nuclear weapons nor nuclear power plants. Indonesia’s Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said the recall did not represent a new case but was part of an ongoing return process involving previously flagged shipments.
“This is old stock from PT Bahari Makmur Sejati. It is the same case from August,” said Ishartini, the ministry’s head of quality control, as quoted by Kompas.com on Thursday.
In August, the FDA detected traces of Cs-137 in a container linked to a processing facility operated by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati at the Modern Cikande Industrial Estate (KIMC) in Serang, Banten. US authorities have since returned more than 400 containers, or roughly 6,000 tonnes, of frozen shrimp to the company, the ministry said.
The latest recall is part of a broader series of rejected shipments tied to radioactive contamination alerts.
Authorities previously identified at least 24 companies in and around KIMC as having been exposed to Cs-137, including five factories producing consumer goods ranging from frozen and processed foods to footwear and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders commonly used in households.
Further tracing led investigators to a scrap metal plant located about 2 kilometers from the industrial estate, operated by PT Peter Metal Technology, which is suspected of improperly storing contaminated materials.
Police in early December named Lin Jingzhang, director of PT Peter Metal Technology, a suspect in the radioactive contamination case. -- Jakarta Post/Asia News Network
