U.S. Senator John Kennedy issued a stark warning about eating imported shrimp, making his point on the Senate floor using a visual aid.
"This is a photograph of the alien from the movie Alien. This is what you could end up looking like, if you eat some of the raw frozen shrimp being sent to the United States by other countries," Kennedy said.
Kennedy said that’s because the imported shrimp was found to be radioactive – at least the shrimp sold in Walmart stores in Louisiana and other states that was recalled.
"It had a radioactive isotope in it called cesium-137. It’ll kill you. Even if it doesn’t turn you into the alien if you eat this stuff, I guarantee you’ll grow an extra ear," Kennedy said.
Kennedy's speech was to make a point about food inspection. He said on a good day, the U.S. may inspect two percent of all shrimp that is imported into the country, and that pales in comparison to the inspection rates of other countries.
"The United Kingdom inspects 50 percnt of the foreign seafood coming into its nation. Even China does a better job than the United States of America," Kennedy explained.
"Now, I am biased. I believe in homegrown Louisiana shrimp, fresh out of the Gulf, not radioactive. But I understand that some stores prefer to buy foreign shrimp because it is cheaper. Now we know why: The damn stuff is radioactive.
"NOAA needs to do a better job of inspecting the shrimp that is sold from other countries that don’t abide by the same standards we do to the consumers of the United States of America."