FDA Regional Coordination Against Indian Shrimp Exporter 'Routine,' Agency Says
FDA recently disclosed a spate of import refusals across several ports for shipments from an Indian shrimp processor, in what one association called the first indications of a coordinated effort between agency import districts but that an FDA spokesperson called “routine.”
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Statistics released by FDA on import refusals in November show 45 out of 88 were of entry lines of shrimp from Kader Exports Private Limited. Beginning Nov. 18, the FDA Division of West Coast Imports refused 15 entry lines. Then, over the next three days, the Division of Southeast Imports and Division of Northeast Imports refused 18 and 11 entry lines, respectively. Most of the import refusals were due to the presence of salmonella.
“This is, to the Southern Shrimp Alliance’s knowledge, the first reporting by FDA indicating a joint, cooperative effort by multiple regional divisions of the agency to prevent the importation of contaminated, potentially dangerous foreign shrimp from entering the U.S. market through different ports of entry,” the trade group said in a Dec. 7 news release. “If a coordinated action indeed took place, this would represent a substantial improvement in the FDA’s oversight of imported seafood.”
According to the FDA spokesperson, “a coordinated effort did take place against the shrimp exporter.” But “the agency regularly coordinates amongst its various offices, along with other government agencies to ensure imported products comply with the provisions of the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act.”
“The firm was unable to overcome the appearance of the violation, and as such the shipments that were detained were subsequently refused,” the FDA spokesperson said. “There were unique caveats involved in this particular instance, but ultimately this type of follow up is routine and relied on leveraging basic screening and targeting along with the utilization of typical regulatory enforcement tools, to ensure that violative products were not released into U.S. commerce. The agency communicated effectively across local offices, the Division of Import Operations, and the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.”