On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added Kader Exports Private Limited, of Andhra Pradesh, India, to Import Alert 16-127, “Detention without Physical Examination of Crustaceans Due to Chloramphenicol.” Kader Exports is the first Indian shrimp exporter to be included on this Import Alert.
The FDA’s Import Alert on chloramphenicol explains that “[c]hloramphenicol is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is not approved for use in food producing animals and has been prohibited from extra-label uses in food producing animals in the United States.” The FDA notes that “[u]se of the antibiotic in humans, in the U.S., is reserved for treatment of certain serious, potentially life-threatening infections.” Moreover, “[t]herapeutic doses correlate with a low incidence (1:30,000 to 1:50,000) of serious and potentially fatal blood disorders, such as idiosyncratic aplastic anemia.” The FDA accordingly considers chloramphenicol “a poisonous or deleterious substance . . . .”
Import Alert 16-127 had historically only applied to crab products, but in November 2013 was amended and revised to apply to all crustaceans, including lobster, crayfish, langostino, crab, and shrimp. Nevertheless, prior to Tuesday, the only non-crab products listed on the Import Alert were for shrimp shipped by two Malaysian suppliers, CAB Food Sdn. Bhd. and Globe Season Enterprise, and shrimp exported to the United States from Vietnam by Tan Phong Phu Seafood Company. Tan Phong Phu Seafood Company was added to Import Alert 16-127 in March of 2016 and was, prior to this week, the last time a company was included on the Import Alert because of a shrimp shipment.
According to its website, Kader Exports Private Limited is part of the Liberty Group of seafood companies. The Liberty Group also includes five other companies: Premier Marine Products; Devi Marine Food Exports (P) Ltd.; Universal Cold Storage Limited; Kader Investment and Trading Company; and Liberty Frozen Foods Private Limited. The Liberty Group’s website explains that the conglomerate “possesses six strategically located processing facilities in Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, almost covering the entire east coast.”
Review Import Alert 16-127 issued on June 5, 2018 here: https://shrimpalliance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Import-Alert-16-127-June-5-2018.pdf