FDA recalls Walmart shrimp shipment for possible radioactive risk

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday the recall of frozen shrimp potentially contaminated with radioactivity from a major supermarket chain.

The shrimp imported from an Indonesian company had been marketed in 13 states by retail giant Walmart, health officials confirmed on their website.

The recall follows the detection of the radioactive isotope cesium-137 in imported shrimp through PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, according to the notice. Containers with the contaminated cargo arrived at several U.S. ports, including Los Angeles, Houston and Miami.

The level of radioactivity detected was minimal and the product would not pose "an acute risk" to consumers, the FDA said.

BMS Foods to 'red list'

No shrimp imported by the company and stocked for sale in stores nationwide have tested positive for radioactivity, the agency said. However, the company's shrimp "appear to have been prepared, packaged and stored under unsanitary conditions so they could have been contaminated with Cs-137 and pose a safety concern."

In the long term, even exposure to low doses of cesium is linked to an elevated risk of cancer, the government entity added. The shrimp supplier also known as BMS Foods, was placed on the red list, meaning its products cannot be sold in the country until the problem is resolved.

The FDA asked Walmart to recall the shrimp from the market and urged people who had already purchased the product to discard it.