The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now published detailed data regarding 103 seafood entry line refusals in May, of which three (2.9%) were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
Through the first five months of this year, the FDA has refused a total of eighteen entry lines of shrimp for banned antibiotics, significantly below the rate of refusals in the last two years.
The three entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics in May were for shipments from an Indian shrimp exporter and a Chinese shrimp exporter:
- Milesh Marine Exports Pvt. Ltd. (India), a company that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) for its shipments of shrimp on June 1, 2023, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of Southwest Imports on May 22, 2023; and
- Dalian Kowa Foods Co., Ltd Factory (China), a company that is not on the green list of Import Alert 16-131 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquacultured, Shrimp, Dace, and Eel from China – Presence of New Animal Drugs and/or Unsafe Food Additives”), had two entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and unsafe additives by the Division of West Coast Imports on May 2, 2023.
At least one entry line of Indian-origin shrimp has been refused by the FDA for reasons related to veterinary drug residues in each month dating back to November of last year.
In addition, the FDA reported the refusal of another twenty (20) entry lines of shrimp for the presence of salmonella and/or filth in May from seven different shrimp exporters including one entry line from Thailand’s Pantainorasingh Manufacturer Co., Ltd. (filthy); three entry lines of shrimp from India’s Royale Marine Impex Pvt. Ltd. (filthy); one entry line of breaded shrimp from India’s Accelerated Freeze Drying Company Limited (Unit 2) (filthy and salmonella); one entry line of shrimp from India’s Edhayam Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd. (filthy); three entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (filthy and/or salmonella); six entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s PT. Indokom Samudra Persada (filthy and/or salmonella); and five entry lines of shrimp from Sri Lanka’s Taprobane Seafood (PVT) LTD. (salmonella).