It’s true that food irradiation doesn’t make food radioactive. Contamination from a cesium-137 source used in food irradiation, however, could cause something like this. It is very unlikely but could occur in very negligent conditions with systemic safety & monitoring failures on the part
of the company & regulators imo. The amount of Cs contamination that was detected on the shrimp isn’t a substantial threat to health by itself, but the fact that it’s there at all tells us that the conditions the shrimp were stored or processed in are not fit for products for human consumption.
Pretty much sums up WalMart.
The US maintains a system of radiation detectors at ports of entry specifically because other countries may fail to maintain radiological safety and control. So, while this should have never gotten so far as to be detected at the port, the US side of radiological safety is working as intended here.
It sounds like the food already hit the shelves, though, instead of being stopped at the port.
“At this time, no product that has tested positive or alerted for Cesium-137 (Cs-137) has entered the U.S. commerce. FDA is working with distributors and retailers that received product…after the date of first detection of Cs-137… from shipments that did not alert for Cs-137”
Well that's good. This is just about being extra cautious then, I guess.
Yeah, the caution is warranted imo, but it’s probable no one in the US has actually been harmed imo. By the Cs anyway. The recall also mentions that the Cs detection indicates the conditions it was handled & stored in aren’t up to food safety standards.
If a weird, rare radioactive isotope can get in there, what else has it been exposed to? What was it exposed to even before the Cs got in there and indicated something was very wrong at the facility? Best to just toss it until the FDA knows what happened and can understand the full risk posed.
Of course not detected isn’t the same as not contaminated; no way to know for sure until more of it is intercepted and tested. But Cs is easy to detect in very small amounts (it releases strong and characteristic gamma waves) when you’re looking for it and have the right equipment.
Yay Europe still has better food standards
And the FDA appears to be taking this seriously and investigating the failures that made it possible for radioactive cesium to come into contact with food.