January 11, 2016

US refusals of antibiotic-contaminated shrimp spike 87% in 2015

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused 213 seafood entry lines in December, of which 3 (1.4%) were of shrimp entry lines rejected for reasons related to banned antibiotics.

For 2015, the FDA refused a record 389 entry lines of shrimp products for reasons related to banned antibiotics, compared to 208 lines in 2014, which represents a 87% increase.

The Southern Shrimp Alliance reported that the three entry line refusals in December involved two companies - Tan Phong Phu Seafood Company (Vietnam) and Jagadeesh Marine Exports (India).

December marked the first month since April 2014 that FDA did not report a refusal of shrimp from Malaysia for reasons related to veterinary drug residues. 

Outside of Malaysia, 2015 was also a record year for refusals of shrimp entry lines from India: a total of 34 entry lines were refused for reasons connected with banned antibiotics. This number is exactly half the total amount of entry lines of shrimp from India refused over the previous thirteen years combined.

Refusals of shrimp entry lines from Vietnam (40) also came close to the record high posted in 2014 (48), even with the sharp fall in shrimp exports from Vietnam to the US in 2015.

Source: www.fis.com