Another round of recalls is affecting shrimp sold in Kroger, due to a risk of radioactive contamination. Photo from Ambrosia LaFluer, Wikimedia Commons.

News Release

SEATTLE — Aquastar Corp. has expanded its recall of shrimp products sold nationwide because of potential radioactive contamination, federal officials said.

The Seattle-based seafood company recalled nearly 157,000 additional pounds of cooked and frozen shrimp Saturday, Sept. 20 after concerns about exposure to cesium 137, a radioactive isotope and byproduct of nuclear reactions. The action follows an earlier recall in August tied to the same issue.

The latest recall includes Kroger Raw Colossal EZ Peel Shrimp, Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp and AquaStar Peeled Tail-on Shrimp Skewers. The products, sold between Thursday, June 12 and Wednesday, Sept. 17, were distributed to Kroger-owned grocery chains in more than 30 states, including Indiana.

Stores affected include Fred Meyer, Ralph’s, King Soopers, Pick ‘n Save, Food 4 Less and others.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said testing found cesium 137 in shipping containers and a sample of frozen breaded shrimp imported from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati, an Indonesian supplier known as BMS Foods. Contamination may have originated from scrap metal or industrial smelting near the shrimp processor’s facilities, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Federal officials emphasized that the radioactive levels detected — about 68 becquerels per kilogram — are far below the FDA’s safety threshold of 1,200 becquerels per kilogram.

Still, the agency warned that prolonged exposure could present a health risk and issued an import alert to block potentially contaminated shrimp.

More than 3 million pounds of shrimp from BMS Foods entered U.S. ports in September, according to Customs and Border Protection records.