Over the weekend, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released detailed data regarding ninety-two (92) seafood entry line refusals in April, of which ten (10.9%) were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
Through the first third of 2025, the FDA has reported refusing a total of twenty-two (22) entry lines of shrimp for reasons related to veterinary drug residues. The FDA’s refusals in the month of April were close to the total amount of antibiotic-related refusals of shrimp entry lines (10) over the first three months of the year.
Shrimp from India has accounted for ten of the total twenty-two entry line refusals in 2025, while seven of these entry line refusals have been of Vietnamese shrimp.
The ten entry lines of shrimp refused for veterinary drug residues in April were attributed to shipments of shrimp from three different exporters in China, India, and Vietnam. One of these three exporters is a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified shrimp processor:
- Thong Thuan – Cam Ranh Seafood Joint Stock Company – Export Seafood Processing Factory – Cam Ranh (Vietnam), a company that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10243), with an additional BAP certification for a related shrimp farm (F10787), and that was added to Import Alert 16-124 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquaculture Seafood Products Due to Unapproved Drugs”) on April 2, 2025 for the presence of enrofloxacin in its shrimp and to Import Alert 16-127 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of All Seafood Due to Chloramphenicol”) on March 31, 2025 for the presence of chloramphenicol in its shrimp, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with poisonous chloramphenicol by the Division of Northeast Imports on April 11, 2025;
- Vasista Marine (India), a company that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) on March 6, 2025 for the presence of nitrofurans in its shrimp, had three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 1, 2025 and had another three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 11, 2025; and
- Zhengxiong (Rudong) Trade Co., Ltd. (China), a company that is not currently included on the “green” list for Import Alert 16-131 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquacultured Shrimp, Dace, and Eel from China and Hong Kong SAR – Presence of New Animal Drugs and/or Unsafe Food Additives”), had three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with unsafe additives and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 15, 2025.
Of the remaining eighty-two (82) seafood entry line refusals by the FDA in April, eight were for entry lines of shrimp imports for reasons unrelated to banned antibiotics. Continuing its actions taken in February and March, the FDA refused another six entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s Mega Marine Pride in April due to deficiencies with the labeling of sulfites that were present in its shrimp. The FDA additionally refused an entry line of shrimp from India’s NK Marine Exports LLP for being filthy and containing salmonella and an entry line of shrimp from India’s Mulpuri Aqua Processors for being filthy.