Sen. Kennedy Warns Radioactive Shrimp Imported Indonesia Found U.S.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy warned in a congressional hearing about the dangers of radioactive shrimp imported from Indonesia, specifically from the company PT. Bahari Makmur Sejati. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had issued recalls after detecting the radioactive isotope Cesium-137 in shrimp sold under Walmart's Great Value label in multiple states. Kennedy dramatically illustrated the hazard by holding up a poster of the “Alien” movie monster, suggesting that consuming the shrimp could cause severe health effects, including growing an extra ear. Despite FDA assurances that contaminated shrimp was not released for sale, some shipments still reached U.S. distributors, including Walmart and Kroger. While radiation experts consider the health risk low, they emphasize the need for clarity on the contamination source and urge transparency from authorities. The warnings and Kennedy's remarks sparked online mockery but have heightened scrutiny of food safety and import controls.