The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released detailed data regarding one hundred and thirty-nine (139) seafood entry line refusals in January, none of which were for shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
This is the second consecutive month in which the FDA has reported no entry line refusals of shrimp for the presence of veterinary drug residues, despite reporting eighty-one (81) such refusals over the first eleven months of 2024.
Nevertheless, the FDA did report refusing thirteen (13) entry lines of shrimp in January 2025.
Eight of these involved shipments of shrimp contaminated with salmonella, of which seven were from India and one was from Vietnam. On January 2, 2025, the Division of West Coast Imports refused one shipment of shrimp from the Vietnamese exporter Tai Kim Anh Seafood Joint Stock Corporation for the presence of salmonella. On January 3, 2025, the Division of Northeast Imports refused two shipments of shrimp from the Indian exporter Matara Aquaculture West Bengal Private Limited for being filthy and the presence of salmonella. On January 10, 2025, the Division of Southeast Imports refused one shipment of shrimp from the Indian exporter Sai Marine Exports Private for the presence of salmonella. On January 17, 2025, the Division of Northern Border Imports refused four shipments of shrimp from the Indian exporter S.S. Sea Food Pvt Ltd for being filthy and having salmonella.
Finally, the FDA again reported refusing entry lines of Indonesian shrimp for being short-weighted in January. Specifically, on January 27, 2025, an entry line of shrimp from PT Bumi Pangan Utama was refused for “added bulk” by the Division of Southeast Imports. On January 29, 2025, the Division of Southeast Imports refused an entry line of shrimp from PT. First Marine Seafoods for “added bulk” as well. Moreover, another entry line of shrimp from the Indonesian company Mega Marine Pride was refused for “added bulk” by the Division of Northeast Imports on January 21, 2025. Further, another two entry lines of shrimp from Mega Marine Pride were refused by the Division of West Coast Imports on January 17, 2025 due to deficiencies with its labeling of sulfites. Each of these three Indonesian producers currently operates under a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant: PT Bumi Pangan Utama (P10605); PT First Marine Seafoods (P10248 and P10988 for Plant II); and PT. Mega Marine Pride (P10071). Nevertheless, despite the continued reporting of refusals for “added bulk” of Indonesian shrimp, no Indonesian shrimp exporters are currently listed on Import Alert 99-47, “Detention Without Physical Examination of Human Food Products that Appear to be Adulterated for Economic Gain.”