FDA warns public not to eat possibly radioactive shrimp sold at Walmart
U.S. Customs and Border Protection alerted the FDA about possible Cesium-137, or Cs-137, detected in shipping containers at four U.S. ports, the FDA said Tuesday in a press release. Testing on frozen shrimp from the distributor, Indonesia's BMS Foods, also tested positive, the FDA said.
MORE: Nationwide bologna lunch meat recall: What to know about the products
However, no shrimp that has tested positive for Cesium-137 has entered the U.S. food supply, according to the FDA.
The FDA is still recommending a recall on all products from BMS Foods that were shipped after the company's shipping containers tested positive for Cesium-137, even though the products themselves have not tested positive.
The following Great Value brand frozen shrimp products should not be eaten, sold or served:
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005540-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005538-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
Great Value brand frozen raw shrimp, lot code: 8005539-1, Best by Date: 3/15/2027
All products from the company are now banned from coming into the U.S. "until the firm has resolved the conditions that gave rise to the appearance of the violation," the FDA said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
IUP's proposed medical school earns key 'candidate status' from accreditors
INDIANA, Pa. – Indiana University of Pennsylvania's proposed college of osteopathic medicine has achieved a 'critical milestone' in being elevated to candidate status by the American Osteopathic Association's Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. This is the second step in the accreditation process. Pre-accreditation status is the next step that can be applied for in the next two years, and that allows IUP to begin recruiting students to the future medical school. 'It's been incredibly hard work to get to this important stage, but also incredibly rewarding,' the proposed college's founding dean, Dr. Miko Rose, said in a statement. 'The IUP and Indiana-area community, our legislators, our alumni and friends, local businesses and schools, and our regional and state health care partners and leaders have been unwavering in their support, encouragement and confidence in IUP.' Rose added that she couldn't be more proud of the work already completed and she's excited for the future. 'This designation is a critical milestone in our work to establish a college of osteopathic medicine at IUP,' university President Michael Driscoll said in a release. He said the faculty and staff of the university have worked at 'light speed' since the IUP Council of Trustees endorsed pursuit of the proposed medical college in December 2022. 'This achievement reflects thousands of hours of hard work, preparation and support from so many people, including our legislators, (state) Sen. Joe Pittman, (state) Rep. Jim Struzzi and (U.S.) Congressman Guy Reschenthaler,' Driscoll said. 'I thank them, our donors, the proposed college of osteopathic medicine team and its advisory groups, and everyone at IUP and in our community who has been part of advancing this project.' Once up and running, the proposed college of medicine will be housed in a new health sciences center at the Indiana campus. The university's long-range facilities master plan recommends use of Johnson Hall, Uhler Hall and Stright Hall as the site of that grouping. All three buildings are scheduled for renovations. Once accredited, the proposed college of osteopathic medicine is set to receive its first class of students in the fall of 2027. Solve the daily Crossword


Medscape
an hour ago
- Medscape
Smartwatches Won't Fix the Burnout Crisis in Medicine
This transcript has been edited for clarity. Welcome to Impact Factor , your weekly dose of commentary on a new medical study. I'm Dr F. Perry Wilson from the Yale School of Medicine. Burnout is a huge problem across multiple professions in the United States. Grades K-12 teachers have about a 50% burnout rate. So do people in quality assurance. But I was unable to find a profession with a higher rate of burnout, or a higher potential for harm from burnout, than — you guessed it — physicians. A 2022 survey found that 63% of physicians had burnout, rates that have been among the highest of all US workers since 2011. And this is a huge problem. When docs are burned out, they are more likely to commit medical errors, be named in malpractice suits, and even exhibit racial biases. Administrators of health systems have taken notice. But their solutions have often been criticized as tone-deaf. 'Mandatory burnout workshops' are not helping anyone's burnout, I promise you. So I was a bit concerned by a study that came out this week that offered a relatively simple solution to what is a really complex problem. Can you actually cut burnout in half by giving physicians a smartwatch? Before we dig into the study, let's talk about burnout a little bit. I think there's sort of a Potter Stewart definition of burnout: 'I know it when I see it.' But the real description comes from Christina Maslach, who characterized it as a psychological syndrome brought about by chronic occupational stress characterized by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization or cynicism, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishment. Sound familiar? I know. It's not uncommon. And it goes without saying that depersonalization and cynicism are just terrible traits to have in a doctor. It's not just workload that leads to burnout, according to most psychologists; it's this combination of workload and a feeling that you don't have autonomy. That you are not the master of your fate or the captain of your soul. Big issues. So how is a smartwatch supposed to help? Well, the idea isn't crazy. Smartwatches are miniature biofeedback devices. They tell you about your heart rate, your step count, how much you slept. Those little data points can lead to some real behavior change. This is anecdotal, but multiple people have told me they've cut back on drinking alcohol because they noticed that their smartwatch-reported sleep quality is worse on nights that they drink. Researchers at the Mayo Clinic and University of Colorado thought that maybe giving smartwatches to physicians would lead them to make small lifestyle changes, like getting more sleep, that would reduce this problem of burnout. Here's how the trial worked, as reported in JAMA Network Open . One hundred and eighty-four physicians — about half attendings, half residents and fellows, and about 60% female — were randomized to two groups. One group got a smartwatch, specifically the Venu 2 Plus from Garmin, to wear for 6 months. The other group got nothing. Well, to be fair, they got a smartwatch as well — just after a 6-month wait so the team would have 6 months of high-quality comparison data. At the beginning of the study and several times over those 6 months, the participants took surveys about their mental health: a resilience survey, a quality-of-life survey, a depression survey, a stress survey, a sleep survey and, importantly, a burnout survey. At baseline, 50% of people in the intervention arm were burned out and 43% were burned out in the control arm. After 6 months, burnout dropped to 41% in the intervention arm and rose to 51% in the control arm. The difference here was not technically statistically significant, but after accounting for the fact that burnout was higher at baseline in the intervention group, the team concluded that the odds of burnout were about 50% lower after 6 months of the smartwatch intervention. I know statistics can get confusing in situations like this. I think sometimes it helps just to look at the graph and make your own judgment: Burnout down a bit with a smartwatch, up a bit without a smartwatch. Fine. There was also about a 20% improvement in resilience scores, while there were no differences in quality of life, depression, or stress scores. So… is that it? Have we solved this problem plaguing all of healthcare and multiple other industries across the United States? Smartwatches? My fear is that some C-suite execs will look at this study and think they can cut burnout rates in half by sending a bunch of smartwatches around. Maybe it seems obvious to you that it wouldn't actually work, but let's break down a bit how the results of this study may be somewhat skewed. The most important thing to note is that this study was not blinded. The people in the smartwatch group knew they were in the smartwatch group because… they were wearing the smartwatch. It's hard to imagine a way to blind this study, to be fair, although I suppose you could give everyone a smartwatch but half the people get fake data or something. But once you know that you are in the intervention group, biases in your answers creep in. Just imagine you're in the study. At baseline, you take these surveys, then they give you a smartwatch, and 6 months later you take a bunch of surveys again. Maybe you skew your answers a bit, even unconsciously, because you like the people running the study or science in general, or maybe even smartwatches. The authors acknowledge this but minimize it, suggesting that if this 'social desirability bias' was present, it should improve scores across all the surveys. I mean, okay, but to be honest, the score differences are pretty marginal across the board, so I don't find that argument very compelling. The real issue here is that this study puts the locus of control in the wrong place, as many burnout interventions do. It puts the responsibility for burnout on the shoulders of the burned-out physicians. It suggests we can tolerate our jobs better if we just change our outlook: Sleep more, meditate more, live in the moment, do tai chi, etc. But I would argue that the problem with burnout is not in the mind of the physician; the problem is the system in which we work. More than 75% of physicians in the United States today are employed by hospitals, health systems, or other corporate entities. The private-practice model is rapidly dying and the physician workforce is learning what it means to be labor instead of management. They are feeling what it is like to be exploited, for lack of a better word — pushed to see more patients in less time, pushed to generate more RVUs, pushed to work weekends and nights to increase margins. It's not what they signed up for. The problem of burnout is from the system. If you want to cut rates in half, you don't send docs a smartwatch. You give them more time to see fewer patients. You change the insurance system that leaves us on the phone arguing for prior authorization for hours at a time. And if that affects the bottom line of the health system, you look for cuts in the — and this is true — 10 administrators for each physician in the US. Look, I love my smartwatch. It helps me delete emails while I'm waiting for the elevator. But the solution to physician burnout is not here. It's out there.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
FDA Warns Potentially Radioactive Shrimp Sold at Walmart in 13 States
FDA Warns Potentially Radioactive Shrimp Sold at Walmart in 13 States originally appeared on Parade. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an urgent advisory to consumers about certain frozen shrimp products that may be contaminated with a radioactive substance, prompting a voluntary recall at Walmart stores. The alert centers on Great Value brand Frozen Raw Ez Peel Tail-On Farm-Raised White Vannamei Shrimp sold in 2-pound bags. This recall specifically involves lots coded 8005540-1, 8005538-1, and 8005539-1, all stamped with a best-by date of March 15, 2027. According to the FDA, the products were distributed to Walmart locations in 13 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. The concern is the possible presence of Cesium-137 (Cs-137), a radioactive isotope. While it is rare for food to test positive for this contaminant, long-term exposure to Cs-137 has the potential to damage DNA and increase the risk of cancer. The FDA stresses that no shrimp testing positive for Cs-137 has made its way into the U.S. food supply, but the recall is being taken as a issue was flagged during routine inspections at several U.S. ports, including Los Angeles, Houston, Savannah, and Miami. U.S. Customs and Border Protection detected elevated radiation levels in shipping containers, which led to further investigation. The shrimp originated from PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati (BMS Foods) in Indonesia. The processor has now been placed on an FDA import alert for chemical contamination under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Officials believe the shrimp may have been stored or processed under unsanitary conditions that led to possible exposure. Investigators are still working with Indonesian regulators to determine whether the source of Cs-137 is tied to environmental contamination or mishandling during production. For consumers, the instructions are simple but critical: If you have purchased any of the affected shrimp, do not eat, cook, serve, or sell it. The safest action is to throw it away. Retailers and distributors have also been directed to remove any remaining stock from shelves. Walmart has confirmed that the products were available in the affected states and says it is fully cooperating with the FDA's recall process. Much of America's seafood comes from abroad, roughly 79%. The FDA routinely screens imported seafood for contaminants such as heavy metals, antibiotics, and now, radiation. While rare, cases like this highlight the need for strong food safety protocols and consumer awareness. Consumers can check Walmart's recall page or visit the FDA website for the latest updates. The advisory is precautionary, but it underscores the agency's vigilance in keeping potentially harmful products off American tables. FDA Warns Potentially Radioactive Shrimp Sold at Walmart in 13 States first appeared on Parade on Aug 19, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 19, 2025, where it first appeared. Solve the daily Crossword