US issues new import warning for Indonesia

VTV.vn - The US issued a new import warning to Indonesia after detecting radioactive Cesium-137 in shrimp and cloves.

View of Long Beach cargo port, California, USA. (Source: THX/TTXVN)

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on October 3 issued Import Alert No. 99-52 after detecting radioactive Cesium-137 (Cs-137) in some shipments of shrimp and cloves from Indonesia.

The new regulation, which took effect on October 31, states that all shrimp and spice products exported from Java Island and Lampung Province (Sumatra) are only allowed to enter the US market if officially certified by the Indonesian Government .

The FDA said the suspected source of contamination comes from the discovery of radioactive Cs-137 waste in the Batan Indah residential area (South Tangerang, Banten province), radioactive dust from metallurgical facilities, as well as the risk of leaks in some areas in Java and Lampung.

Two Indonesian companies have been added to the “red list” due to products found to be contaminated with Cs-137: PT Natural Java Spice (Surabaya, East Java) and PT Bahari Makmur Sejati (Serang, Banten). Their shipments will be automatically confiscated and will only be removed from the list after passing independent FDA-accredited testing.

In addition, all shrimp and other spice shipments from Java and Lampung are placed on the “yellow list”, requiring certification from an Indonesian state agency designated by the FDA.

Last August, the FDA launched an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) discovered Cs-137 in frozen shrimp containers from PT Bahari Makmur Sejati at four ports in Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, and Miami.

Source: https://vtv.vn/my-ban-hanh-canh-bao-nhap-khau-moi-doi-voi-indonesia-100251004183307393.htm