In a crucial step to protect American consumers from contaminated shrimp and other food imports, Representatives Clay Higgins (R-LA) and Troy A. Carter (D-LA) reintroduced the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act of 2025. This bipartisan legislation, supported by the Southern Shrimp Alliance, closes a dangerous loophole in current law by authorizing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to destroy imported food products that pose a significant public health concern and removes the option to re-export dangerous products.
The FDA tests only 0.4% of imported shrimp, and when contamination is detected—such as banned veterinary drugs, harmful pathogens like salmonella or listeria, or spoiled or filthy conditions—importers are given the option to destroy or re-export it within 90 days. This re-export option has created a significant vulnerability in our food system and discourages foreign exporters from ensuring that the food they are shipping to the United States is safe.
Low inspection rates at the border, coupled with the return of exported goods found to be unsafe for consumption, allow exporters to play the percentages in shipping contaminated product to the U.S. market with the knowledge that the worst outcome is the FDA handing back the shipment. The Southern Shrimp Alliance has documented how containers of contaminated shrimp rejected by U.S. authorities were re-exported only to be shipped back to the United States through different ports—a practice known as “port shopping.” Closing the re-export loophole aligns U.S. practices with those of other major markets for shrimp, like the EU, where destroying rejected products is normal practice.
“Imported shrimp and seafood products that are potentially dangerous for consumers need to be destroyed,” said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “Giving these products back to the foreign shipper does little to incentivize them to address the problem prior to shipping it to this country. We thank Representatives Higgins and Carter for leading a bipartisan effort to get rid of a ridiculous limitation on the FDA’s authority and improve the safety of this country’s food supply.”
The bill will also help level the playing field for American producers who adhere to strict safety standards while competing with imports that may circumvent these requirements.
“This legislation will protect Louisiana’s health and support our seafood economy,” said Rep. Carter. “By granting the FDA the necessary authority to destroy food products that fail to meet our strict health and safety standards, we are closing a dangerous loophole that has allowed contaminated seafood to enter our markets. This bill protects consumers from potential health risks and upholds the integrity of our food supply chain, while supporting Louisiana fishermen and seafood processors.”
Refusal data from the EU, Japan and U.S. all demonstrate that shrimp farmed and exported from India and Vietnam—which supplied about half of the total volume of U.S. non-breaded frozen shrimp imports in 2024—present unique risks of antibiotic contamination.
“Billions of pounds of uninspected seafood continue to enter our country, causing major health concerns,” said Rep. Higgins. “We must prioritize the health and safety of the American people by holding foreign shipments to the same high standards that our U.S. producers face. In my opinion, foreign products don’t even come close to the quality of Louisiana seafood. This legislation provides the FDA with the authority to destroy illegal seafood imports and ensures that contaminated products don’t reach American markets.”
Last year, the FDA refused eighty-one (81) entry lines of shrimp because of antibiotics, the most since 2016. A majority of these entry line refusals involved shrimp exported from India (31) or Vietnam (18). The remaining thirty-two (32) entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics by the FDA in 2024 were for shrimp exported from China (18), Bangladesh (6), Ecuador (2), Thailand (2), Hong Kong (1), Japan (1), Malaysia (1), and Indonesia (1).
Review the Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act of 2025 here: https://troycarter.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/troycarter.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/higgla_028_xml.pdf
Read press release from Rep. Higgins, “Higgins, Carter Introduce Legislation to Combat Contaminated Foreign Seafood,” here: https://clayhiggins.house.gov/2025/04/16/higgins-carter-introduce-legislation-to-combat-contaminated-seafood/
Learn more about the FDA’s current treatment of imports refused entry into the United States here: https://www.fda.gov/industry/fda-import-process/import-refusals