This morning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published detailed data regarding 80 seafood entry line refusals in April, of which just one (1.3%) was of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
Through the first four months of this year, the FDA has refused a total of fifteen entry lines of shrimp for banned antibiotics.
The one entry line of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics in April was for a shipment from an Indian shrimp exporter:
- Suryamitra Exim PVT. Ltd. (India), a company that is not currently listed on Import Alert 16-124 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquaculture Seafood Products Due to Unapproved Drugs”), Import Alert 16-127 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Crustaceans Due to Chloramphenicol”), or Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”), had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of Southeast Imports on April 25, 2023.
Suryamitra Exim PVT. Ltd. has been responsible for roughly half (7 of the 15) of the entry lines of shrimp refused for reasons related to banned veterinary drug residues in 2023, but is no longer listed on Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”), despite having been added to that Import Alert on January 5, 2023.
In addition, the FDA reported the refusal of another twenty-three (23) entry lines of shrimp for the presence of salmonella and/or filth in April from four different shrimp exporters including one entry line from Thailand’s Marine Frozen Foods (salmonella); five entry lines of shrimp from India’s Edhayam Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd. (salmonella); thirteen entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (filthy and salmonella); and four entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s PT. Indokom Samudra Persada (filthy and salmonella).