The Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of 83,800 bags of frozen raw shrimp due to potential radioactive contamination with Cesium-137.
The product was sold by grocery chains Market 32 and Price Chopper, which announced a recall of select Market 32 and Price Chopper brand frozen farm-raised raw shrimp due to potential contamination with Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope.
Although the FDA made the announcement on December 19, the affected shrimp were sold after July 11, 2025, with “best by” dates ranging from April 22, 2027, to April 27, 2027.
Cesium-137 is a man-made radioactive isotope. The company said that the potential contamination may stem from the shrimp being prepared and packed in “unsanitary conditions.”
“The primary health effect of concern following longer term, repeated low dose exposure, such as through consumption of contaminated food or water over time, is an elevated risk of cancer, resulting from damage to DNA within living cells of the body,” according to companies that sold the product.
The recall affects products produced by Direct Source Seafood, LLC, specifically the 26-30 count easy peel shrimp with UPC code 4173501358.
The recall follows an FDA advisory, although no contaminated products have entered the U.S. marketplace, and no illnesses have been reported. The bags were imported from Indonesia, which potentially caused the contamination.
Customers who purchased these items have been notified through the company’s Broadnet recall notification program. Those who still have the recalled shrimp should return them to Market 32 or Price Chopper for a full refund.
For further information, customers can contact Direct Source Seafood, LLC at 425-455-2291 or Market 32 and Price Chopper at 800-666-7667 or via email at consumerresponse@pricechopper.com.
The Cesium-137 contamination raises alarming questions about how a man-made radioactive isotope ended up in shrimp imported from Indonesia. Cesium-137 is typically associated with nuclear reactor accidents like Fukushima or Chernobyl, or improper disposal of medical or industrial radioactive materials.
The “unsanitary conditions” explanation seems insufficient for radioactive contamination. Cesium-137 doesn’t occur naturally in food processing environments. Its presence would require either contamination of the water where the shrimp were raised, contamination during processing from equipment or materials, or environmental contamination in the region.
The statement that no contaminated products have entered the U.S. marketplace conflicts with the recall of 83,800 bags already sold. The companies likely mean no additional contaminated products beyond those being recalled have entered distribution.
The five-month delay between when the shrimp were first sold in July and the December 19 recall announcement means thousands of consumers may have already eaten the potentially contaminated product. Those people face uncertainty about their exposure levels.
The cancer risk from low-dose radiation exposure is cumulative over a lifetime. A single meal of contaminated shrimp likely poses minimal risk, but repeated consumption could increase cancer probability over decades.
The 26-30 count designation refers to the number of shrimp per pound, indicating medium-sized shrimp commonly used for cooking. The easy peel feature means the shrimp have been partially processed to make shell removal easier.
