The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published detailed data regarding 107 total seafood entry line refusals in April, of which eight (7.5%) were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
Over the first four months of this year, the FDA has refused a total of 31 entry lines of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics, putting the agency on pace for a total of 93 shrimp entry line refusals for veterinary drug residues in 2022, which would be the most for a year since 2016.
The eight shrimp entry lines refused in April were for shipments from five different companies in Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, and Malaysia:
· Gemini Sea Food, Ltd. (Bangladesh), a company that is currently listed on Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) as of November 15, 2021, had two entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northeast Imports on April 14, 2022 and one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northeast Imports on April 19, 2022;
· Mr. Fang’s Store (Putian) Green Food Co., Ltd. (China), a company that is not on the green list of Import Alert 16-131 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquacultured, Shrimp, Dace, and Eel from China – Presence of New Animal Drugs and/or Unsafe Food Additives”), had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and unsafe additives by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 5, 2021;
· Wing Cheong Marine Product (Hong Kong), a company that is not currently listed on Import Alert 16-124 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquaculture Seafood Products Due to Unapproved Drugs”), Import Alert 16-127 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Crustaceans Due to Chloramphenicol”), or Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”), had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and unsafe additives by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 28, 2022;
· Nekkanti Sea Foods Limited (India), a company that is currently listed on Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) as of May 3, 2022, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northeast Imports on April 21, 2022; and
· EB Frozen Food Sdn. Bhd. (Malaysia), a company located in peninsular Malaysia that is not on the green list of Import Alert 16-136 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Aquacultured Shrimp and Prawns from Peninsular Malaysia Due to Presence of Drug Residues from Unapproved Animal Drugs or the Presence of Unsafe Food Additives”), had two entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and unsafe additives by the Division of West Coast Imports on April 14, 2022.
In addition to these shipments, the FDA also refused another twelve entry lines of shrimp for the presence of salmonella and another four entry lines of shrimp for being filthy.
| About the Southern Shrimp Alliance |
| The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) is an organization of shrimp fishermen, shrimp processors, and other members of the domestic industry in the eight warmwater shrimp producing states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. |
