On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published detailed data regarding 36 seafood entry line refusals in June, of which three (8.3%) were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics. The FDA also released information regarding an additional three entry line refusals of shrimp in May for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
As indicated in the table below, in the first half of 2024, the FDA has refused a total of 47 entry lines of shrimp for the presence of veterinary drug residues. If refusals remain at this pace for the remainder of the year, the agency will have refused the highest number of entry lines of shrimp for antibiotics in a calendar year since 2016.
The six entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics in May and June were for shipments of shrimp from three Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified integrated shrimp producers in India, a BAP-certified shrimp processor in Indonesia, and an exporter in China:
- 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, 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 one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on May 30, 2024;
- 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 one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and nitrofurans by the Division of Northeast Imports on June 5, 2024;
- B-One Business House Pvt. Ltd. (India), a company that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10779), with additional BAP certifications for multiple shrimp farms, that was added to Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) on June 10, 2024, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans by the Division of West Coast Imports on June 14, 2024;
- Timur Laut BMSfood (Indonesia), a company that currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant (P10991), 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 one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on June 13, 2024; and
- Zhangzhou Hongwei Foods 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 two entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with unsafe additives and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on May 30, 2024.
The FDA also announced that another four entry lines of shrimp were refused in June for the presence of salmonella; two from Vietnam, one from Sri Lanka, and one from Indonesia.