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Banned Antibiotics in Indian Shrimp

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released information for entry line refusals for the month of February.  The agency reported refusing a total of 131 seafood entry lines last month.  Of these, 6 (4.6%) were of shrimp entry lines refused for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
For the year, the FDA has only reported refusing eight entry lines of shrimp for antibiotics, substantially below the level of refusals reported in 2014 and 2015.

The diminished number of refusals is likely the result of the sharp drop in shipments of shrimp from Malaysia to the United States.  Shipments from Malaysia constituted the majority of shrimp entry line refusals for reasons related to banned antibiotics in both 2014 and 2015.
Nevertheless, even with substantially curtailed Malaysian shrimp shipments, the FDA continues to report shrimp refusals related to banned antibiotics.  The six entry line refusals in February involved five companies from three different countries:
  • RDR Exports (India) , a company not currently listed on Import Alert 16-124 for chloramphenicol, but listed on Import Alert 16-129 for nitrofurans on October 9, 2015, had
    one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and nitrofurans in the New York District and one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and nitrofurans in the Los Angeles District;
  • Jagadeesh Marine Exports (India), a company listed on Import Alert 16-124 for chloramphenicol on November 16, 2015 but not currently listed on Import Alert 16-129, had
    one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues in the New York District;
  • Five Star Marine Exports Pvt. Limited (India), a company not currently listed on Import Alert 16-124 for chloramphenicol, but listed twice, at two different addresses, on Import Alert 16-129 for nitrofurans on October 9, 2015, had
    one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues and nitrofurans in the New York District;
  • Timuran Gaya Enterprise (Malaysia), a company not currently listed on either Import Alert 16-124 or Import Alert 16-129, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans in the Southwest District; and
  • Zhanjiang Regal Integrated Marine Resources Co., Ltd. (China), a company that had been exempted from Import Alert 16-131 in June 2015, had
    one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues in the Southwest District.
    Zhanjiang Regal‘s exemption from Import Alert 16-131 was removed on February 29, 2016 and its shipments of shrimp to the United States are currently subject to detention without physical examination.
Although overall shrimp entry line refusals for banned antibiotics are down compared to the last two years, refusals of shrimp shipped from India have continued to be significant.  Last year, a record total of 34 entry lines of shrimp from India were refused for reasons related to banned antibiotics.  This amount was exactly half the total amount (68) of entry lines of shrimp from India refused over the previous thirteen years combined.  In the first two months of 2016, the FDA has already reported refusing 6 entry lines of Indian shrimp (2 in January and 4 in February) and is therefore on pace to surpass 2015’s record levels.

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