FDA detects radioactive contamination in Indonesian spices after shrimp recalls widen

Federal regulators say cesium-137 has been detected in a shipment of cloves exported from PT Natural Java Spice, marking a second Indonesian product to trigger import action as recalls of potentially tainted shrimp expand. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration blocked imports of all spices from PT Natural Java Spice after the finding in California. The discovery comes after investigators previously flagged shrimp from PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, or BMS Foods, which ships millions of pounds to U.S. ports and had an import alert imposed in August. The company has sent about 84 million pounds (38 million kilograms) of shrimp to U.S. ports this year, and it supplies about 6% of foreign shrimp imported into the United States.

Cesium-137 is a radioactive isotope created as a byproduct of nuclear reactions, including nuclear bombs, testing, reactor operations and accidents. It is present at trace levels in the environment and can be found in soil, food and air around the world. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detected cesium-137 in shipping containers of shrimp sent by PT Bahari Makmur Sejati to several U.S. ports. CBP flagged the contamination to the FDA, which tested samples of the shrimp and detected cesium-137 in one sample of breaded shrimp. The company has shipped tens of millions of pounds of shrimp to the United States this year, representing a sizable share of imports from abroad.

The spice finding this month compounds the concern. FDA officials detected cesium-137 in one sample of cloves exported by PT Natural Java Spice, which ships cloves to the United States and other markets. Records show the company sent about 440,000 pounds (approximately 200,000 kilograms) of cloves to the United States this year. No food that triggered alerts or tested positive has been released for sale in the United States, FDA officials stressed. But hundreds of thousands of packages of imported frozen shrimp have been recalled since August because they may have been manufactured under conditions that allowed contamination.

The contamination levels detected are far below the threshold that would trigger formal health protections, but long-term exposure could raise the risk of certain cancers. It is not yet clear whether there is a common source for the shrimp and the spices. FDA and CBP investigators are continuing their examinations. The two Indonesian processing facilities linked to the shrimp shipments appear to be about 500 miles (roughly 800 kilometers) apart. The International Atomic Energy Agency has suggested contaminated scrap metal or melted metal at an industrial site near the shrimp processing facilities could be the source of the radioactive material. Officials noted that such contamination could originate from recycling old medical equipment that contained cesium-137, according to nuclear experts.

Contaminated transport containers or shared shipping materials could also be a source, according to industry and academic observers. In the near term, regulators have urged consumers to avoid eating or serving shrimp that have been recalled for potential cesium-137 contamination. The FDA has said it will continue monitoring imported foods and conducting testing as part of ongoing investigations.

Eight recall actions have been announced by various firms since August, including Southwind Foods, LLC (Aug. 21), Beaver Street Fisheries, LLC (Aug. 22), AquaStar (USA) Corp (Kroger Brand) (Aug. 27), AquaStar (USA) Corp (Aqua Star Brand) (Aug. 28), expansion of the Southwind recall (Aug. 29), and expansions of the AquaStar recall (Sept. 19 and Sept. 23), with additional company notices following later in September. Regulators emphasized that no recalled product has been cleared for sale and that the situation remains under investigation as shipments continue to move and be tested at U.S. ports.

Keen attention remains on the supply chain from Indonesia, where regulators have acknowledged detecting cesium-137 at sites outside Jakarta. The broader question for U.S. consumers and retailers is whether any other imported foods carry low-level radioactivity that could accumulate with long-term exposure. For now, health authorities say the immediate risk is low, but they urge vigilance, continued testing, and prompt recall actions if additional contaminated lots are identified. The AP Health and Science Department will continue to update readers as more results are confirmed and as investigators work to identify a potential single or multiple sources for the contamination.