Possible contamination of shrimp by a radioisotope led the FDA to issue a do-not-eat-or-sell warning yesterday for three lots of frozen shrimp sold under Walmart’s Great Value brand.
The primary concern is not that there is enough Cesium-137 in Great Value Frozen Raw White Vannamei Shrimp to cause immediate health problems, but that it could be part of repeated low level exposure that increases the risk of cancer — from damage to the DNA within living cells of the body.
Walmart said the shrimp went to stores in Florida, Missouri, Kentucky, Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
"Cesium-137 is a radioisotope of cesium that is man-made through nuclear reactions and, because it is widespread worldwide, trace amounts of Cs-137 can be found in the environment, including soil, food and air," yesterday’s FDA alert said. — TCA
