Imported Shrimp
Imported shrimp may be contaminated with antibiotic, pesticide or bacterial residues.
Shrimp is the most popular seafood in the United States, but about 90 percent of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. is imported from other countries where seafood production and employment conditions are often not well regulated. Unfortunately, this means shrimp can be farmed in dirty, overcrowded, and environmentally damaging conditions, with poor working conditions for laborers. Because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspects less than two percent of imported seafood, imported shrimp may be contaminated with antibiotic, pesticide or bacterial residues. Imported shrimp is one of Food & Water Watch’s Dirty Dozen.
For more information on this subject, see Food & Water Watch’s 2008 report, Suspicious Shrimp.
Recommended alternatives to imported shrimp:
* Shrimp, U.S. wild-caught
* Shrimp, South Atlantic white
* Shrimp, Key West Pink (“Tortugas”)
* Shrimp, Pacific Bay
* Shrimp, Pacific Pink
* Shrimp, Rock
* Shrimp, Royal Red
