Federal regulators and a Bellevue, Washington supplier have pulled roughly 83,800 one- and two-pound bags of frozen raw shrimp off shelves after the products may have been exposed to the radioactive isotope cesium-137.
The recall was announced Dec. 19 by Direct Source Seafood LLC. The affected shrimp were imported from Indonesia and sold under the Market 32 and Waterfront Bistro brands at a variety of supermarkets, including Price Chopper, Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Safeway and Lucky. According to the company and the Food and Drug Administration, the shrimp "may have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with cesium-137."
What was recalled
- Brands: Market 32 (1-lb bags) and Waterfront Bistro (2-lb bags)
- UPCs: Market 32 — 0 41735 01358 3; Waterfront Bistro — 021130 13224-9
- Best-by dates: Market 32 — 04/22/27, 04/23/27, 04/24/27, 04/26/27, 04/27/27; Waterfront Bistro — APR 25, 2027 or APR 26, 2027
- Sold on or after late June/early July 2025
- States where the product was distributed (17 total): Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming
- Check your freezer and receipts. Match UPCs and best-by dates before deciding what to do with a bag of shrimp.
- If you bought the product, do not eat it. Return it to the store for a refund or dispose of it safely.
- If you have symptoms you think are related to exposure, contact a health-care provider. For most people a single short-term exposure is unlikely to cause immediate illness; concerns center on the risk from repeated long-term exposure.
- For official guidance and updates, follow the company and the FDA recall notice.
Retailers and the distributor are advising customers not to eat the product and to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or to dispose of it.
Why cesium-137 is a concern (and what it really means)
Cesium-137 (Cs-137) is a man-made radioisotope produced by nuclear fission. It has a half-life of roughly 30 years and is used in certain industrial and medical devices; it is also a byproduct of nuclear reactors and weapons. The primary long-term health worry that regulators highlight is an increased cancer risk from repeated, low-dose exposure over time, because ionizing radiation can damage DNA.
That said, the FDA's recall notice underlines that "at this time, no product that has tested positive or alerted for Cesium-137 (Cs-137) has entered the U.S. marketplace," and no illnesses have been reported in connection with this recall. Federal officials also note that traces of Cs-137 can be found at background levels in the environment and in foods from areas with contamination.
How this fits into a broader string of recalls
This action follows earlier recalls of frozen shrimp earlier in 2025 after traces of Cs-137 were detected in some imported batches sold at major retailers. Over the summer and fall, several additional suppliers expanded recalls as testing and supply-chain tracing continued. The most recent recall from Direct Source Seafood adds tens of thousands more bags to those earlier pullbacks.
What consumers should do now
If you’re the kind of person who keeps a deep freezer stocked for weeknight dinners, this recall is an annoying disruption. It’s also a reminder of how complex global food supply chains can transmit unexpected risks — and how much we now rely on testing and traceability to keep what we eat safe.