The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now published detailed data regarding 29 seafood entry line refusals in November, of which four (13.8%) were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
The FDA’s released data for November appears to only cover part of the month and encompassed imports just through November 19th. As with the partial information previously reported for the past few months, the remainder of entry line refusals during the month are likely to be reported a month from now (in January).
Based on what the agency has reported, with one month left in the year, the FDA has refused a total of fifty entry lines of shrimp for banned antibiotics in 2023.
The four entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics in November were for shipments from an Indian shrimp exporter and a Thai shrimp exporter that both currently operate under certifications granted by the Global Seafood Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices:
- Calcutta Seafoods Pvt. Ltd. (India), a company that currently operates under a four-star Best Aquaculture Practices certification for its processing plant (P10567) and has BAP certifications for multiple shrimp farms and that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) for its shipments of shrimp on July 19, 2023, had three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on November 8, 2023; and
- Okeanos Food (Thailand), a company that currently operates under a four-star Best Aquaculture Practices certification for its processing plant (P10123) and has BAP certifications for a hatchery and multiple shrimp farms, and that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) for its shipments of shrimp, breaded shrimp, and shrimp in various food preparations (dumplings, chowder, soup, pasta, etc.) on November 27, 2023, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans by the Division of West Coast Imports on November 17, 2023.
In addition, the FDA reported that the Division of Southeast Imports refused one entry line of shrimp from the Ecuadorian exporter Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila S.A. on November 14, 2023 due to salmonella.