JAKARTA (Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new import certification requirements for shrimp and spices from Indonesia after cases of radioactive contamination were detected earlier.
In a posting on its website on Saturday, Indonesian time, the agency said that it will implement the import certification requirements from certain regions of Indonesia starting on October 31, 2025.
The certification requires firms on the red list with evidence of Caesium 137 contamination to have an accredited third party to verify the control of the radioactive element.
Once the firms are taken off the red list, they will still be subject to restrictions and will need to provide information indicated under the yellow list for each shipment.
Firms on the yellow list covering certain foods with Caesium 137 contamination risks are required to have shipment certification from an entity designated by the FDA, which must be an agency or representative of the Indonesian government.
FDA’s website says Caesium 137 is a radionuclide present in the environment mainly as the result of nuclear testing or accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Indonesia does not possess nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants.
The FDA in August issued an advisory to consumers, distributors and sellers in the U.S. not to eat, sell or serve frozen shrimp processed by local seafood company PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, after their products were contaminated with Caesium 137.
The shrimp was processed at an industrial estate near Jakarta that was later found to be contaminated with the radioactive element and Indonesia’s nuclear agency is seeking to pinpoint the size of the area affected.
Bara Hasibuan, a spokesperson for the investigation into the incident, told Reuters: “We just received the report few hours ago. Need time to figure what steps need to be taken.”
(Reporting by Dewi KurniawatiEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
