Walmart recalls possibly radioactive shrimp after public warned not to eat

Walmart has issued a recall for some of its shrimp products after the US Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, found radioactive material in a shipment. The shrimp in question was sold under Walmart's Great Value brand, and the FDA warned that frozen shrimp from this label could have been exposed to a dangerous isotope while being shipped. Although only one sample of breaded shrimp tested positive for the radioactive substance, and that sample did not reach stores, the FDA is advising people in 13 states to throw away any recently purchased shrimp from Walmart.

A spokesperson for Walmart said that the health and safety of customers is their top priority. Walmart has stopped selling the affected shrimp and removed it from stores in the states where it was sold. Customers who bought the recalled shrimp can return it to any Walmart store for a full refund. The shrimp was sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. People living in these states should check their freezers and get rid of any shrimp they bought from Walmart recently.

The shrimp came from a supplier in Indonesia. The FDA said that several shipping containers from this supplier were denied entry into the US because of safety concerns. One shipment tested positive for Caesium-137, a radioactive form of the element Caesium. While the amount found was not enough to cause immediate harm, the FDA warned that long-term exposure could increase the risk of cancer by damaging cells in the body. Caesium-137 is created through nuclear reactions and is found in small amounts in soil, food, and air all over the world. It is also one of the main sources of radiation near the sites of nuclear disasters like Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan. The FDA did not find Caesium-137 in other shrimp products it tested, but it cautioned that this does not mean there is no risk of contamination. The agency is continuing to investigate the situation and working with Walmart and the supplier to make sure customers are safe.