Greetings and best wishes,

Late last year, FRI received a request from a private company to identify a species of marine life found in a batch of dried shrimp imported from Vietnam.

An examination of the 13 submitted specimens was conducted by Dr. Kua Beng Chu, a fish parasitologist. The organisms were identified as isopods; however, they did not resemble the fish and shrimp isopods typically found in Malaysian waters.

From a food safety perspective, most isopods are harmless to humans as they are non-toxic, and some species are even consumed as food. However, certain species, such as Renocila sp., are parasitic to live fish. While these parasites are not harmful to humans, they can cause discomfort to the host fish, hinder growth, or in some instances, affect the fish’s reproductive organs.

FRI has forwarded images and samples of the specimens to other experts at the Institute for Medical Research (IMR) and the University of Queensland for specific species identification.