Greenland's Arctic sweet shrimp have been found multiple times by Russia to have severe heavy metal content exceeding standards.

Published Feb 9, 2026

Tridge summary

Core tip: Russian regulators recently reported again that arsenic levels were found to be severely exceeded in a batch of imported Arctic sweet shrimp (Pandalus borealis) from Greenland. The batch in question consists of cooked and frozen Arctic sweet shrimp, sampled from an import shipment of approximately 18 tons. The test results showed arsenic levels as high as 20 mg/kg, which is four times over the permissible limit according to Russia's current food safety technical regulations, and has been clearly identified as a non-compliant product and handed over to the regulatory system for disposal.

Original content

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that abnormal levels of heavy metals have been detected in Arctic shrimp from Russia. According to information previously disclosed by Russian official testing agencies and industry media, during the safety monitoring of imported aquatic products in the second half of 2025, regulatory authorities have repeatedly found that the arsenic levels in batches of cooked frozen Arctic shrimp were significantly high, with some samples exceeding the limit by several times. The fact that this has been reported consecutively indicates that this issue is not an isolated case but has evolved into a recurring structural risk in the cold-water shrimp import chain. In the food safety regulatory system, arsenic is classified as a toxic element and is usually managed alongside lead, cadmium, and mercury as heavy metal pollutants. Although arsenic is chemically classified as a "metalloid," in the context of aquatic industry regulation and trade, ...

Source: Foodmate