On Sunday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published data reporting that there were 59 total seafood entry line refusals in March, of which 6 (10.2%) were of shrimp for reasons related to banned antibiotics.
With a total of 33 entry lines of shrimp refused for banned antibiotics through the first two months of this year, the FDA has now refused almost as many entry lines of antibiotic-contaminated shrimp as reported in all of 2020
The six shrimp entry lines refused in March for reasons related to antibiotics were for shipments from four exporters in Bangladesh, China, India, and Vietnam:
- Fresh Foods (Bangladesh), a company that is listed on Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) as of February 5, 2021, had three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 17, 2021;
- Fuqing Yihua Aquatic Food Co., Ltd. (China), a company that is no longer 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 breaded shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 11, 2021;
- Apex Frozen Foods Pvt Ltd (India), a company that is currently listed on Import Alert 16-129 (“Detention Without Physical Examination of Seafood Products Due to Nitrofurans”) as of December 16, 2020, had one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residues by the Division of West Coast Imports on March 18, 2021; and
- Seavina Joint Stock Corporation (Vietnam), 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 nitrofurans by the Division of Northeast Imports on March 18, 2021.