Federal regulators have identified potential radioactive contamination in another food shipment from Indonesia to the United States, raising concerns about unusual issues with imports.
Officials from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have halted all spice imports from a company called PT Natural Java Spices after detecting cesium-137 in a clove shipment that was sent to California last week.
This comes on the heels of an Import Alert issued in August concerning PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, a company that exports millions of pounds of shrimp to the U.S. annually.
What is Cesium 137?
Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope produced as a byproduct of nuclear reactions. This includes everything from nuclear bomb tests to reactor incidents. Traces of it can be found in various environmental sources like soil, food, and even air.
What did U.S. officials find?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection detected cesium-137 in shipping containers of shrimp from PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, flagging the FDA for possible contamination. Tests returned positive for cesium-137 in a sample of breaded shrimp.
This company is responsible for shipping about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year alone, accounting for approximately 6% of the foreign shrimp market in the country.
More recently, FDA officials found cesium-137 in a sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which has sent around 440,000 pounds (200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the U.S. this year.
What are the health risks?
Currently, the FDA has not linked specific foods to any alerts or confirmed sales in the U.S.
However, several hundred thousand packages of imported frozen shrimp sold at Kroger and other grocery chains have been recalled due to potential contamination risks linked to manufacturing standards.
While the risks might seem minimal, prolonged exposure to low levels of cesium-137 could pose health concerns, particularly regarding an increased risk for certain types of cancers.
Where did the pollution come from?
It remains uncertain whether the shrimp and spices share a common contamination source. Investigations by the FDA and CBP are ongoing. Interestingly, the processing plants in Indonesia are about 500 miles (800 kilometers) apart.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has suggested that contaminated scrap or molten metals might be sources in the area surrounding the shrimp processing facilities. Indonesia’s nuclear regulator acknowledged the presence of radioisotopes at a site near Jakarta.
Such contamination might arise from the recycling of older medical devices that include cesium-137, according to a nuclear medicine expert.
Additionally, contaminated transport containers or methods, like vehicles or shared materials, could also be culprits.
What should consumers do?
At this point, consumers should be cautious about shrimp that have been recalled due to cesium-137 concerns, as advised by the FDA.
Since August, four companies have announced shrimp recalls, including:
- August 21, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall
- August 22, 2025: Beaver Street Fisheries, LLC Recall
- August 27, 2025: Aquastar (USA) Corp Recall – Kroger brand
- August 28, 2025: Aquastar (USA) Corp Recall – Aqua Star Brand
- August 29, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expanding original recall
- September 19, 2025: Aquastar (USA) Corp Recall – Expanding original recall
- September 23, 2025: Southwind Foods, LLC Recall – Expanding original recall
- September 23, 2025: Lawrence Wholesale, LLC Recall – Kroger brand
