The Global Aquaculture Alliance has responded to a recent ABC News story on illegal antibiotics being found in imported farmed shrimp in the US.
According to federal government, most of the shrimp eaten in the United States is imported from countries including India, Thailand and Vietnam. The ABC News story states “To keep the shrimp from dying in diseased waters from their own muck, some shrimp farmers routinely pour antibiotics that are not allowed in the US into their pens - and some of it is reaching US grocery stores.”
The news organisation tested 30 samples of fresh shrimp bought all over the US, and shrimp in three of the 30 samples were found to contain banned antibiotics.
Three different banned antibiotics were found in the shrimp: enrofloxacin, an antibiotic banned in animals that Americans eat because it damages the immune system; chloramphenicol, suspected to cause cancer in humans; and carcinogen nitrofuranzone, which was banned in the US 40 years ago.
However, GAA has hit back, saying, “Despite the impression left by a recent ABC News story on farmed shrimp, the use of antibiotics is neither a common nor accepted practice in shrimp farming. In fact, great progress has been made to eliminate antibiotics, and shrimp can now be obtained from certified sources that provide the food safety assurance that consumers demand.”
A GAA statement said that shrimp imports to the United States are subject to multiple controls. The US Food and Drug Administration routinely tests imported seafood. Further, exporting countries test and screen shrimp for banned antibiotics and chemicals before it leaves their borders, and countries like China and Thailand also monitor their shrimp farms directly.
It continued that for added assurance, seafood buyers typically require their suppliers to test for illegal substances - a requirement that is now mandatory for certification programs such as Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), which the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) developed specifically to address concerns such as antibiotics.
"The shrimp-farming industry recognises the use of antibiotics in food production should be avoided due to concerns about food safety and the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria," GAA president George Chamberlain said. "The technology for disease management in shrimp farming has made transformative advances."
