This morning, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published detailed data regarding 91 seafood entry line refusals in August, of which four (4.4%) were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics, and an additional nine entry line refusals in July that were not previously reported, of which two were for shrimp for veterinary drug residues.
The FDA has now refused a total of sixty (60) entry lines of shrimp for the presence of veterinary drug residues over the first eight months of 2024, equal to the total number of similar entry line refusals reported by the agency in calendar year 2022 and higher than what was reported for all of last year.
As shown in the chart below, with a third of the year left, entry line refusals of shrimp for banned antibiotics in 2024 already equals or exceeds total annual refusals in five of the last seven years.
The two additional entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics in July and the four entry lines of shrimp refused for veterinary drug residues in August were for shipments of shrimp from two different Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified shrimp processors in India:
- Penver Products Limited (India), a company that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10535), with additional BAP certifications for multiple shrimp farms, and that has been listed since August 1, 2024 on Import Alert 16-124 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquaculture Seafood Products Due to Unapproved Drugs”) for leucomalachite green, had three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and for being misbranded by failing to bear the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor of the shrimp by the Division of West Coast Imports on August 5, 2024; and
- Kalyan Aqua & Marine Exports India Pvt. Ltd. (India), a company that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10352), with additional BAP certifications for a related shrimp farm (F10442B), that is not currently listed on Import Alert 16-124 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquaculture Seafood Products Due to Unapproved Drugs”) or Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) or Import Alert 16-127 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Crustaceans Due to Chloramphenicol”), had two entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans by the Division of Northeast Imports on July 31, 2024 and one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and nitrofurans by the Division of Southeast Imports on August 23, 2024.
In addition, the FDA also reported refusing twelve (12) entry lines of shrimp from three different Indonesian shrimp exporters for being short-weighted in August.
Bumi Pangan Utama PT, an Indonesian shrimp exporter that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10605), had eight different entry lines of shrimp refused by three different regional FDA divisions in the month of August for “added bulk.” The Division of West Coast Imports refused one entry line of shrimp from Bumi Pangan Utama PT for “added bulk” on August 9, 2024, refused another entry line of shrimp from the company for the same reason on August 13, 2024, and refused two more entry lines of shrimp for “added bulk” on August 19, 2024. The Division of Southwest Imports refused two entry lines of shrimp from Bumi Pangan Utama PT for “added bulk” on August 21, 2024. And the Division of Northeast Imports refused one entry line of shrimp from Bumi Pangan Utama PT for “added bulk” and because its label failed to bear an accurate statement of the package’s contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count on August 9, 2024.
Similarly, Mega Marine Pride, an Indonesian shrimp exporter that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10071), had two different entry lines of shrimp refused by two different regional FDA divisions in the month of August for “added bulk.” Specifically, one entry line of shrimp from Mega Marine Pride was refused for “added bulk” and because its label failed to bear an accurate statement of the package’s contents in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count by the Division of West Coast Imports on August 1, 2024. Another entry line of shrimp from the company was refused for “added bulk” by the Division of Northeast Imports on August 2, 2024.
Finally, PT. First Marine Seafoods, an Indonesian shrimp exporter that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10248), had one entry line of shrimp refused for “added bulk” by the Division of Southwest Imports on August 1, 2024 and another entry line of shrimp refused for the same reason by the same Division on August 26, 2024.