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Walmart Recalls Frozen Shrimp Over FDA Warning About Radiation Risk

By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Aug 20, 2025.

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20, 2025 — If you’ve purchased frozen shrimp from Walmart lately, you may want to hold off on serving it for dinner.

Walmart is recalling certain frozen shrimp products sold under its Great Value brand after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned that the seafood may be at risk for radioactive contamination.

The frozen shrimp were imported from Indonesian company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati and sold in 13 states, the FDA said.

While no recalled shrimp have tested positive for contamination, the FDA urged Walmart to pull the products after detecting a radioactive isotope called Cesium-137 in a separate shipment from the same supplier.

That contaminated shipment did not enter U.S. commerce, the FDA noted.

"The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority. We have issued a sales restriction and removed this product from our impacted stores. We are working with the supplier to investigate," Walmart said in an email to CBS News.

Walmart and the FDA said customers who purchased the recalled shrimp should not eat them and should throw them away. Refunds are available at the original store of purchase.

The FDA’s warning applies to the following Great Value frozen raw shrimp products:

• Lot code 8005540-1 — Best by 3/15/2027

• Lot code 8005538-1 — Best by 3/15/2027

• Lot code 8005539-1 — Best by 3/15/2027

The shrimp was sold at Walmart stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia.

Consumers should discard these products immediately.

The FDA said distributors and retailers should not sell or serve these products.

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope created during nuclear fission, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It’s used in medical devices and is also a byproduct of nuclear reactors and weapons testing.

The FDA said the detected Cesium-137 levels were around 68 Bq/kg, well below the agency’s “levels of concern” threshold of 1,200 Bq/kg for imported food.

"At this level, the product would not pose an acute hazard to consumers," the FDA notice said.

However, the agency noted that repeated low-dose exposure to Cesium-137 could increase the risk of cancer over time. Avoiding products with even low levels of radiation, the FDA said, is intended to reduce long-term health risks.

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted August 2025

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