The Southern Shrimp Alliance has called into question efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to inspect food imports, after the number of refused entry lines in May dropped sharply compared to the same month in previous years.
The agency denied only 27 entry lines last month. That’s down from 91 in May 2019, and that total was the lowest the FDA had reported since the SSA started keeping track in 2002. None of the rejected entries were for shrimp related to banned antibiotics.
“This remarkable decline in overall seafood entry line refusals implies a massive reduction in the FDA’s oversight activities regarding imported seafood at our ports of entry,” the SSA said in a statement dated Thursday, 4 June.
In April, the FDA refused 56 seafood entry lines. Three of those were shrimp products that tested positive for banned antibiotics.
Shrimp import figures for May are not yet available from NOAA Fisheries. However, the U.S. imported more than 51.7 million kilograms (113.8 million pounds, or 51,634 metric tons) of shrimp in April, up from 48.8 million for April 2019. March figures were similar, 51.9 million kilograms (114.1 million pounds, or 51,761 metric tons) in 2020 versus 48.9 million in 2019.
The SSA’s release does not note the COVID-19 crisis that has gripped many facets of the U.S. economy and government. However, an FDA spokesperson told SeafoodSource on Monday, 8 June, that the agency has “continued with seafood examination and sample collections at the ports with whatever volume was being transported through air, sea, and truck containers. In addition, during this time, FDA continued high-risk ready-to-eat food examination and sample collections and found contaminated food products found to contain salmonella and listeria. The agency has continued to refuse products that appear to fail or violate applicable legal requirements.”
The FDA has had to cope with an influx of medical equipment and drugs imported in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the spokesperson said.
“In addition to the focus on higher-risk foods, including seafood, a priority for FDA field staff was review and examination of medical devices and drugs used in the treatment of COVID-19 in order to prevent the importation of fraudulent products during this pandemic,” they said.
The spokesperson added that the agency has started discussing how to resume domestic surveillance inspections using a phased-in approach. That approach will be based on White House reopening guidelines, with specific criteria to be met before proceeding.
“The agency continues to closely monitor the global situation and, as conditions warrant, we will be prepared to resume routine surveillance inspections,” the spokesperson said.
In March, at the onset of the national COVID-19 emergency, the FDA announced it would suspend most foreign inspections through April because of the pandemic. At that time, officials said the agency would try to take other steps to monitor imported products. Among those steps was additional product sampling at ports of entry.
Through May, the FDA has rejected just 14 shrimp entry lines for veterinary drug residues, putting it on pace for the lowest number of denials since 2006, when the FDA rejected 26 entry lines the entire year. For 2019, agency inspectors refused 61 entry lines.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance represents shrimpers and processors in eight states, from North Carolina to Texas. The organization has lobbied for changes in Washington to inspect and reject more foreign shrimp, which they claim can be treated with medications unapproved for use in the U.S.
Photo courtesy of Sasimoto/Shutterstock
