US FDA slaps new requirements for Indonesia's shrimp and spices after radioactive contamination

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new import certification, opens new tab requirements for shrimp and spices from Indonesia after cases of radioactive contamination were detected earlier.

In a posting on its website on Saturday, Indonesian time, the agency said that it will implement the import certification requirements from certain regions of Indonesia starting on October 31, 2025.

The certification requires firms on the red list with evidence of Caesium 137 contamination to have an accredited third party to verify the control of the radioactive element.

Once the firms are taken off the red list, they will still be subject to restrictions and will need to provide information indicated under the yellow list for each shipment.

Firms on the yellow list covering certain foods with Caesium 137 contamination risks are required to have shipment certification from an entity designated by the FDA, which must be an agency or representative of the Indonesian government.

FDA's website says Caesium 137 is a radionuclide present in the environment mainly as the result of nuclear testing or accidents such as Chernobyl and Fukushima.

Indonesia does not possess nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants.

The FDA in August issued an advisory to consumers, distributors and sellers in the U.S. not to eat, sell or serve frozen shrimp processed by local seafood company PT Bahari Makmur Sejati, after their products were contaminated with Caesium 137.

The shrimp was processed at an industrial estate near Jakarta that was later found to be contaminated with the radioactive element and Indonesia's nuclear agency is seeking to pinpoint the size of the area affected.

Bara Hasibuan, a spokesperson for the investigation into the incident, told Reuters: "We just received the report few hours ago. Need time to figure what steps need to be taken."

Reporting by Dewi Kurniawati Editing by Shri Navaratnam 

Eli Lilly to invest over $1 billion in India

Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab will invest more than $1 billion in India in the coming years to boost manufacturing and supply through local drugmakers, the company said on Monday, as it seeks to tap into skilled workforce to bolster its global manufacturing expansion.

The collaborations aim to increase the availability of Lilly's key drugs, including those for obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer's, cancer and autoimmune conditions, the company said.

"We are making significant investments to increase manufacturing and medicine supply capacity around the world," Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly International, said, adding, India is a hub for capability building within its global network.

The company, which launched its blockbuster weight-loss drug Mounjaro in India this year, currently does not operate its own manufacturing facility in the country, which hosts several firms that develop and manufacture complex drugs, vials, injectables for larger pharmaceuticals on a contract basis.

"Lilly is actively engaging with contract manufacturers in India," the company told Reuters, but did not divulge any further details.

Lilly's investment plans in India come at a time when global drugmakers are rushing to bolster U.S. manufacturing capacity after the Trump administration imposed a 100% tariff on imported branded and patented drugs from October 1.

Last month, Lilly announced a $5 billion investment in a new facility in Virginia, part of a $27 billion expansion plan to build four new U.S. plants over the next five years.

Meanwhile, the India launch of Mounjaro, alongside Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab Wegovy, has increased patient awareness of obesity treatments in a country projected to have the world's second-largest obese population by 2050.

Sales of both drugs doubled within months of their launch.

Lilly is also preparing for increased competition from India's generic drugmakers, who are racing to launch cheaper versions of Wegovy once its main chemical ingredient, semaglutide, goes off patent next year.

Separately, Lilly is setting up a manufacturing and quality facility in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad to expand its presence beyond the city's global capability center.

The new hub will oversee the firm's contract manufacturing network across India and provide technical capabilities.

Recruitment for the new site "will begin immediately", Lilly said, with plans to hire engineers, chemists, analytical scientists, quality control and assurance experts and managers.

Reporting by Rishika Sadam; Editing by Sumana Nandy

Amazon loses devices VP and member of elite CEO advisory just days after launches

Just days after putting on its annual devices and services showcase, Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab is losing a vice president who helps oversee the division.

Rob Williams, vice president of device software and services and a member of the elite internal group known as the S-team advising CEO Andy Jassy, left his post and will step down entirely from Amazon at year's end, according to a memo sent internally Thursday and reviewed by Reuters. Amazon confirmed the memo after a query from Reuters without providing additional detail.

"Rob has had a big impact on the software and experiences of nearly all of the products we’ve created and shipped," said Panos Panay, the senior vice president of devices and services, in the memo. He said Williams decided to "retire from Amazon," but Reuters could not learn his future plans.

Panay also announced the consolidation of several teams in his unit, including moving the Alexa Smart Vehicle team into the broader Alexa group. He said the changes were effective Thursday including the elevation of Tapas Roy, previously a vice president overseeing Fire TV product and engineering, to Williams' former post.

Williams will remain an advisor to Panay and on the S-team through the end of 2025, according to the memo.

It is rare for S-team, or senior leadership team, members to depart, as the group is regarded as a badge of honor within the company with unique access to the CEO. Williams joined the 29-member S-team in late 2022 and worked at Amazon for 12 years.

He attended Amazon’s devices event on Tuesday in New York where the firm showed off an array of new products like refreshed Echo voice assistant speakers, color Kindle e-readers and Fire TV sets with improved screen quality.

In an email, he pointed to a LinkedIn posting where he wrote that he had been working on his exit all year and remained on to see the recent device launches. He did not disclose his plans beyond 2025.

The money-losing devices and services unit has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs as it pares back on products. A multi-year project to update its Alexa voice assistant with embedded generative artificial intelligence has rolled out slowly and has no clear path to profitability and Amazon is overhauling its Fire tablets with Android operating software for the first time, Reuters reported in August.

Earlier this week, Williams in a LinkedIn post touted the debut of a new operating system called Vega that will be in use in forthcoming Fire TV devices, including a streaming stick available later this month. Amazon’s proprietary Vega is meant to replace Google’s Android software and promises faster speeds at lower prices.

“No one else has anything like it,” said Williams in the post.