FDA and CBP investigations uncover Radioactive Shrimp shipments from Indonesia, prompting Walmart shrimp recall across 13 U.S. states
Radioactive Shrimp ?? You read that right: Walmart is in the middle of a Radioactive Shrimp recall that sounds more like a bad sci-fi plot than a grocery store headline. The problem isn’t salmonella or some misprinted label this time. Regulators found traces of cesium-137, a radioactive material, in shipments of frozen shrimp linked to Walmart. So let’s break down what actually happened, why Walmart pulled products, and whether you should be worried about what’s sitting in your freezer.
Radioactive Shrimp The story kicked off earlier this summer when U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted the FDA about possible Cesium-137, or Cs-137, detected in shipping containers at four U.S. ports, the FDA said Tuesday in a press release. Testing on frozen shrimp from the distributor, Indonesia’s BMS Foods, also tested positive, the FDA said. and passed through big ports like Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Savannah.
When the FDA ran follow-up tests, one batch of allegedly called Radioactive Shrimp lit up the scanners: 68.48 Bq/kg of cesium-137. Now, that’s way below the legal cutoff of 1200 Bq/kg, but still enough to raise eyebrows. Regulators know radiation risk builds slowly. Eat it once? You’re fine. Eat it every week for years? That’s where health risks like cancer start to creep in.
So, the FDA slammed the brakes. Shipments were blocked, BMS Foods landed on the FDA’s “red list” (which is basically a do-not-import list), and everyone started checking where else those shrimp might have gone.
Radioactive shrimp products are part of the FDA warning?
The FDA said that consumers “should not eat or serve certain lots of Great Value raw frozen shrimp from Walmart.”
The lots are:
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027.
Here’s the twist: while most of the bad shrimp were caught at the ports, Walmart had already received related shipments. Those particular bags didn’t test positive for cesium, but they were from the same supplier, so the FDA told Walmart to recall them anyway.
The recall covers Great Value raw frozen shrimp sold in 13 states, including Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. If you’ve got a bag in your freezer with lot codes 8005540-1, 8005538-1, or 8005539-1 (best by March 15, 2027), don’t eat it. Toss it out and get your refund from Walmart.
Not exactly the kind of surprise you want when you’re planning shrimp tacos
If you’re not a science nerd, cesium-137 probably doesn’t mean much. It’s a man-made byproduct of nuclear fission—the stuff that happens inside power plants and nuclear tests. Traces of it are floating around in the environment thanks to past accidents and weapons testing, but the amounts are usually microscopic.
Finding it in shrimp is unusual, and that’s why regulators reacted so fast. Long-term exposure is tied to radiation sickness and cancer. Again, one meal isn’t going to zap you. The concern is long-term, repeated exposure. Think about it like secondhand smoke: one night in a smoky bar won’t ruin your lungs, but a pack a day for twenty years probably will.
Short answer: probably not. Outside of the three recalled Walmart lots, there’s no evidence radioactive shrimp hit U.S. shelves. Regulators say the system worked the contaminated stuff was caught before it could spread further.
Still, radioactive shrimp is one of those phrases that sticks in your head. If you’re a regular Walmart shopper, it makes sense to double-check your freezer. And honestly, food recalls are becoming such a part of life that staying on top of alerts is just good habit.
The strangest part of this story might not be the cesium at all it’s how easily something like this slips into our food system. A single overseas processor ships shrimp through multiple ports, and before you know it, the product is in a Walmart in Ohio. In this case, CBP inspections caught it. But how many other shipments sail through without a hiccup?
Walmart is expected to beef up supplier checks, and the FDA says it’s still testing imports tied to Indonesia. Indonesian officials are digging into whether the shrimp got exposed through contaminated water, sloppy processing, or something else entirely. Until that gets sorted, BMS Foods is shut out of the U.S. market.
Because let’s be honest, nobody thought they’d ever need to Google: “Is my shrimp radioactive?”
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