On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released detailed data regarding one hundred and nineteen (119) seafood entry line refusals in March, of which eight (6.7%) were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
Through the first quarter of 2025, the FDA has reported refusing just twelve total entry lines of shrimp for reasons related to veterinary drug residues. If this same level of refusals is maintained through the remainder of the calendar year, it will be the lowest total of such refusals since 2020.
The eight entry lines of shrimp refused for veterinary drug residues in March were attributed to shipments of shrimp from five different exporters in China, India, Malaysia and Vietnam. Three of these exporters, from India and Vietnam, are Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified shrimp processors:
- Falcon Marine Exports Ltd. (India), a company that currently operates under four-star BAP certifications for two processing plants (P10015 and P10647), with additional BAP certifications for over 70 shrimp farms, and that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) on April 2, 2025 for the presence of nitrofurans in its shrimp, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 11, 2025;
- 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 veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northeast Imports on March 21, 2025;
- Gallant Dachan Seafood Co., Ltd. (Vietnam), a company that currently operates under a three-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10436) and that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) on April 2, 2025 for the presence of nitrofurans in its breaded shrimp, had four entry lines refused for breaded shrimp contaminated by nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 20, 2025;
- EB Frozen Food Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), a company that is not currently included on the “green” list for Import Alert 16-136 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquacultured Shrimp and Prawn Products in all Market Forms from Peninsular Malaysia Due to the Presence of Unapproved Animal Drugs or Unsafe Food Additives”), had one entry line refused for shrimp cakes/balls contaminated with veterinary drug residues and unsafe additives by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 7, 2025; and
- Rudong Zhengxiong 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 one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with unsafe additives and veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northeast Imports on March 21, 2025.
Of the remaining 111 seafood entry line refusals by the FDA in March, twenty-four (24) were for entry lines of shrimp imports for reasons unrelated to banned antibiotics. Continuing its actions taken in February, the FDA refused another seven entry lines of shrimp from Indonesia’s Mega Marine Pride in March due to deficiencies with the labeling of sulfites that were present in its shrimp. The FDA additionally refused seventeen (17) entry lines of shrimp from India’s Rupsha Fish Private Limited for being filthy and containing salmonella.