In a shocking revelation that’s sure to leave consumers reeling, an NBC News investigation in collaboration with The Outlaw Ocean Project, a nonprofit journalism organization, has unearthed the disturbing story of Joshua Farinella. Farinella had been working in the seafood industry for eight years when he received an exotic job offer too lucrative to pass up — managing a shrimp factory in southern India. The salary: $300,000, more than double what Farinella was making previously. But just a few months after he arrived in October 2023, he became deeply disturbed by what he was witnessing at the company, Choice Canning, that supplies shrimp to major U.S. grocery chains including Walmart, Aldi, ShopRite, and H.E.B.
Farinella found that the company operated unsanitary offsite “peeling sheds” and routinely approved the export of tainted shrimp with antibiotics in violation of U.S. food safety law. The company’s treatment of workers was equally jarring, with migrant workers rarely having a day off, sleeping in overcrowded, bedbug-infested dorms, and being restricted from leaving the walled-off company compound in Amalapuram.
In response to Farinella’s claims, U.S. lawmakers are now investigating the farmed shrimp industry globally and India’s shrimp industry in particular, which accounts for 40% of the imported crustaceans in the U.S. Given the long-held concerns about the farmed shrimp industry, combined with the testimonies of over 150 workers in India’s shrimping sector, the evidence paints a picture of systemic issues and abusive working conditions in India’s shrimp industry.
It’s notable that while the European Union samples 50% of shrimp from India for antibiotic traces, the U.S. inspected just over 1% of shrimp imports in 2023, according to the FDA. This lack of regulatory oversight, combined with environmental damage from shrimp production, further underscores the urgent need for more stringent laws and monitoring of seafood supply chains.
In conclusion, the shocking revelations brought to light by Farinella’s disturbing account of Choice Canning in India, as well as the systemic issues within the shrimp industry, should serve as a wake-up call for more stringent regulations. As consumers demand greater accountability from companies using potentially hazardous practices and exploitative labor conditions, it’s clear that the shrimp industry must ensure higher standards and transparency in its processes moving forward. In a world where ethics and sustainability are becoming a higher priority, such practices cannot be allowed to continue without consequences.
