Jakarta. Indonesia has resumed shrimp shipments to the United States after clearing safety checks linked to a radioactive contamination scare, the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry confirmed that seven containers of shrimp, weighing a combined 106 tons and valued at $1.22 million (around Rp 20.14 billion) , have departed for the US market since Oct. 31. The move follows a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “import alert” issued on Oct. 9, after traces of radioactive Cesium-137 were found in shrimp traced to a processing facility in Cikande, Serang, Banten.

Ishartini, head of the ministry’s quality control and inspection agency, said the seven containers met the FDA’s so-called “yellow list” procedures. She said radiation scans on 100 containers from processors in Java and Lampung have been completed.

“This process will continue. In November we target more than 200 containers that meet US FDA procedures,” she told reporters.

The ministry said the US began accepting Indonesian shrimp again on Oct. 31, following technical reviews by the nuclear regulatory agency Bapeten and laboratory tests by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

The joint task force, involving the food affairs coordinating ministry, fisheries ministry, Bapeten, BRIN, Customs, and the quarantine agency Barantin, completed the compliance checks in less than one month.

Although the radioactive incident was limited to one plant, Ishartini said that all exporters from Java and Lampung are currently required to comply with yellow-list protocols until further notice.

Once quality control systems at those plants are deemed robust, Indonesia will formally request that the US FDA conduct on-site inspections in Indonesia to remove the yellow-list status.

The facility at the center of the contamination issue, PT BMS, is undergoing government evaluations and remains under a third-party audit appointed by the FDA, she added.