FDA Renews Refusals of Antibiotic-Contaminated Shrimp

USA.- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now issued its first report of entry line refusals for 2020. There were 96 total seafood entry line refusals in January, of which two were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics (2.1%).

The FDA had reported no refusals of shrimp entry lines for reasons related to banned antibiotics in November or December last year. In 2019, nearly 43% of the total number of shrimp entry lines refused for banned antibiotics occurred in January, with significant declines in refusals over the remainder of the year.

The two shrimp entry lines refused in January for veterinary drug residues were from two different exporters in India and China:

- Cochin Frozen Food Exports (India), 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”) despite also having a similar refusal reported in October of last year, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on January 27, 2020; and

- Dalian Zhuohong Marine Product Co., Ltd. (China), a company that has not been green-listed on 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 breaded shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and an unsafe additive by the Division of Northeast Imports on January 16, 2020.

In addition to those two entry lines, the FDA also refused another four entry lines of shrimp because of the presence of salmonella: two from India (Cochin Frozen Food Exports and Choice Canning Company) by the Division of West Coast Imports and Division of Southeast Imports, respectively; one from Indonesia (PT Red Ribbon Indonesia) by the Division of West Coast Imports; and one from Bangladesh (Modern Seafood Ind. Ltd.) by the Division of Northeast Imports.

Source: Southern Shrimp Alliance