Walmart just announced a recall for potentially radioactive shrimp in Louisiana and 12 other states, including AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, MO, MS, OH, OK, PA, TX, and WV.
According to an AP report, “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked Walmart to pull three lots of Great Value brand frozen shrimp from stores after federal officials detected Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, in shipping containers and a sample of breaded shrimp imported from Indonesia.”
The FDA released a public alert, stating, “If you have recently purchased raw frozen shrimp from Walmart that matches this description, throw it away.”
Acy Cooper, President of the Louisiana Shrimpers Association, isn’t the least bit surprised.
“We’ve been screaming about this for years. When the European Union turns them away, the United States buys them," explains Cooper. "They test over 50%, we test less than 1%. You know there’s a problem whenever they do that. They just dump it on us, drive prices down, and kill our industry.
“Even China tests more than the United States tests," Cooper goes onto say.
Cooper breaks down the process of how foreign shrimp get rejected from the EU before bouncing back to the US.
“When they’re testing bad, they (the EU) give it back. They put it back on the ship; we call it port shopping," Cooper says. "They might go to Houston and unload, and they have a 99% chance they won’t test it before coming in.”
Cooper explains it's the FDA has long been at fault for allowing tainted shrimp to enter US markets.
"They should’ve been doing this a long time ago," says Cooper. "We’ve been raising issues for a long time. It’s been here for years."
Cooper also explains that the allowance of cheap foreign shrimp has emaciated the local industry.
“If you want to see our industry dissolve and go away, this is how you do it. You’re killing us," Cooper laments. "We can’t put money back into our vessels to pay our bills, overcome our breakdowns, and try to save money for the wintertime. It’s very hard, and people just aren't making it right now.”
The way to help save your local shrimp industry, according to Cooper, is to get personal.
“Come to the coast," Cooper explains. "Come see a fisherman. Pick a fisherman out, and let him be your man."
Another element to be aware of is packaging. Recent laws require grocery stores to label countries of origin in Louisiana. That way, you can know for sure you're buying local.
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