Artificial-intelligence company Anthropic said on Tuesday it is now valued at $183 billion post-money, over twice as much as its earlier valuation, as investor enthusiasm towards AI startups stays strong despite some doubts over tech industry spending.
The new valuation is a jump from the $61.5 billion post-money valuation in March this year, where it raised $3.5 billion.
Anthropic said it raised $13 billion in a Series F round led by investment firm ICONIQ.
The “investment will expand our capacity to meet growing enterprise demand, deepen our safety research, and support international expansion as we continue building reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems,” Anthropic said in a blog post.
The startup, backed by Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon.com, has distinguished its work, in part, by building AI models that excel at coding.
Anthropic’s run-rate revenue, which had grown to approximately $1 billion at the beginning of 2025, was more than $5 billion by August.
The startup behind the Claude large language models unveiled Opus 4.1 in August, an upgrade to Opus 4 on agentic tasks, real-world coding, and reasoning.
The latest funding round was co-led by Fidelity Management & Research and Lightspeed Venture Partners, Anthropic said. Other major investors include the Qatar Investment Authority, Blackstone and Coatue.
U.S. startup funding surged 75.6% in the first half of 2025, driven largely by major AI investments and bold bets from big tech companies, putting it on track for its second-best year ever, a report from PitchBook showed in July.
Last month, Anthropic said it will offer Claude to the U.S. government for $1. Claude, along with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, was added to a list of approved AI vendors, the U.S. government’s central purchasing arm said in August.
Amazon is considering another multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic to strengthen their strategic partnership, the Financial Times had reported in July.
Juby Babu, Reuters
McDonald’s is making some major efforts to bring customers back to the home of the yellow arches. The fast food chain just announced it will bring back its iconic Extra Value Meals starting on Sept. 8.
The addition is extra indeed, as Extra Value Meals haven’t been a part of the menu for six years. According to a press release, the Extra Value Meals will combine select entrées like a Big Mac, an Egg McMuffin, or a McCrispy sandwich with medium fries or hash browns and a drink, for a discounted rate. The chain says prices will vary by location but will be around 15% less than ordering the items individually.McDonalds USA is laser-focused on delivering value and affordability for our customers, and Im incredibly proud of how our franchisees and teams continue to step up to make it a reality, said Joe Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, in the announcement.
Erlinger continued, From the $5 Meal Deal to McValue and now Extra Value Meals, were sending a clear message: were here for our customers. McDonalds will always be a place where you can get the food you love at a price that fits your life.
The addition is not the first major effort McDonald’s has made recently to increase foot traffic. In January, the chain introduced the McValue menu, which includes the $5 meal deal, as well as a “buy one, add one for $1” deal. They also brought back the Snack Wrap this summer, and even a nostalgic 1970s meal: the limited-time McDonaldland Meal, which comes with a very vintage collectible.
The extra efforts make a lot of sense. Fast Food chains have been struggling amid lower numbers in recent years. In May, the chain posted its 2025 first quarter sales, which had dropped by 3.6% from the previous year. On an earnings call at the time, CEO Chris Kempczinski blamed consumer “anxiety,” saying, “During the first quarter, geopolitical tensions added to the economic uncertainty and dampened consumer sentiment more than we expected.”However, by the second quarter, which ended on June 30, sales had ticked back up by 3.8%a sign that the added menu items, lower cost meal deals, and other promotions, may already be working in the chain’s favor.
Legal sports betting is still not offered in California or Texas, the countrys two most populous statesand in Florida, the third most-populous, its largely controlled by the Seminole Tribe. But a new venture from Crypto.com and fantasy-sports provider Underdog Sports could open new doors for fans.
The companies announced Tuesday they are teaming up to launch a sports prediction market in 16 states. Fans will be able to buy and sell outcomes of sporting events, similar to how prediction markets are used to bet on elections, Bitcoin prices, or pop culture events. Odds shift with market movements rather than a bookmakers call.
“Prediction markets are one of the most exciting developments weve seen in a long time,” said Jeremy Levine, Underdog’s founder and CEO, in a statement. “While still new and evolving, one thing is clearthe future of prediction markets is going to be about sports.”
The field is already getting crowded. Robinhood, Polymarket, and Kalshi currently offer prediction markets, and FanDuel announced this month it would partner with CME Group to create sports event contracts.
Sports betting itself is a massive business. Last year, Americans wagered $150 billion in legal sportsbooks, a 22.2% jump from 2023, according to the American Gaming Association. The growth of online gambling has also brought more casual players into the fold.
Prediction markets, however, exist in a legal grey zone, with courts and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) still determining their status. Even so, sites continue to expand and develop loyal users.
Polymarket, one of the largest players, shut down its U.S. operations in 2022 over licensing issues and concerns about manipulation. It relaunched in July of this year after acquiring QCX, a CFTC-licensed derivatives exchange, and QC Clearing, a $112 million clearinghouse. Earlier this summer, the Justice Department and CFTC closed their investigations into the platform.
“Demand is greater than evernot just in user growth and trading volume, but in how mainstream audiences are turning to Polymarket,” said founder and CEO Shayne Coplan at the time.
The Crypto.comUnderdog market will try to sidestep those problems by offering contracts through Crypto.com’s Derivatives North America, a CFTC-registered exchange. Underdog will host the platform and continue to run its fantasy sports business.
Users will be able to predict outcomes for the NFL, college football, the NBA, and Major League Baseball, with more leagues expected. The companies plan to first target states without legal sports betting, but described the platform as “federally compliant,” hinting at ambitions for nationwide expansion.
Citizens analyst Jordan Bender estimates the sports prediction market could generate $555 million in revenues for participating companies. Thats small compared to the $13.71 billion sportsbooks made last year, but still significant.
Cindy Eggleton has always believed in the power of a story.
But the CEO and co-founder of Brilliant Cities, a Detroit-based early childhood development nonprofit that supports learning in underserved communities, never expected someone to tell hers. And definitely not in a sleek documentary with a slick soundtrack and plenty of images of other Detroit institutions, such as General Motors, Diana Ross, and the historic Fox Theatre.
Its never been about me, said Eggleton, adding that participating in the Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World documentary series on YouTube was her way of honoring her late mother, Geraldine, who inspired her to speak out and help others in their community.
However, as they face an increasingly uncertain funding landscape, nonprofits are focusing more on storytelling in outreach to donors both big and small and raising production values for videos and podcasts.
Storytelling is how were able to draw people in and get them to connect to a deeper truth about themselves or about the world or a problem that needs to be solved, said Elevate Prize Foundation CEO Carolina Garcia Jayaram. Its connecting those issues back to you as a human and not saying, Well, thats their problem. Thats all the way over there. The story allows it to be human.
Elevate Prize Foundation launches its own storytelling arm
The foundation launched the production house Elevate Studios earlier this year to tell more of those stories, Garcia Jayaram said. Nevertheless: The Women Changing the World, Elevate Studios first series, has already generated more than 3 million views on YouTube and will debut its second season in the fall of 2026.
Its been incredible to see the growth weve had on YouTube and how its resonated so quickly with so many people, Garcia Jayaram said. We know were on to something here.
Philanthropic support of storytelling has been ongoing for decades, mostly through donors funding documentary projects. Open Society Foundations created the Soros Documentary Fund in 1996 before the Sundance Institute took it over in 2002, with the George Soros-backed nonprofits continued monetary support. The Ford Foundation formalized its funding plans in 2011, creating its JustFilms program that still supports 25-30 documentary films annually. Earlier this month, Firelight Media, a New York-based nonprofit supporting documentary filmmakers of color, launched the Firelight Fund, which will offer directors $50,000 grants for their projects.
But Lance Gould, founder and CEO of media strategy firm Brooklyn Story Lab, says what Elevate Prize Foundation and others are doing is different. He says it reflects both technological improvements that have lowered the cost of documentary storytelling and the rise of social media, which allows nonprofits to interact with donors directly.
Being able to tell your story well is paramount, said Gould, whose firm works with nonprofits to help them produce their own story-driven content. But storytelling is not only about reaching viewers, its also about having the right message for the right viewers.
He suggests that nonprofits connect their work to larger initiatives like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals an ambitious list of 17 efforts from eliminating extreme poverty and hunger to guaranteeing every child a quality secondary education by 2030 to attract more attention and support.
How storytelling can strengthen connection
Gould, who was previously executive editor of The Huffington Post and editor in chief of The Boston Phoenix, said everyone can be their own media company at this point.
Thats a point Nicole Bronzan, vice president of communications and content for the Council on Foundations, hopes is not lost in the push for more storytelling.
We dont want people to feel that they have to make big technological investments in order to tell better stories, Bronzan said. We wouldnt want anyone to feel like they have to have a big fancy studio, but certainly the news that folks are investing in storytelling is great for us and for the whole sector.
In a Council on Foundations report released last year, A New Voice for Philanthropy: How Deeper Stories and Clearer Language Can Build Trust, researchers, including Bronzan, reported that people had positive attitudes toward foundations, but most didnt really understand how foundations worked. Bronzan said stories that provide more transparency about how donations are used and how those decisions are made help connect people to a nonprofit and its work.
If youre telling those stories, she said, I can only imagine that people will be more inclined to open up their pocketbooks and say, Oh, OK, these are causes that need my support.
Documentary sparks donations
So far, that has been the case for Brilliant Cities, which saw an increase in donations after Eggletons episode debuted on YouTube.
We have a funder who wants to increase his gift from $7,000 to $100,000, said Eggleton, whose nonprofit turns a neighborhoods vacant homes into community centers with family services ranging from tutoring to mental health support groups. She said new donors have also reached out. Its kind of incredible.
Though Brilliant Cities doesnt rely on federal funding for its services, Eggleton said government aid cuts have made a tough funding environment even tougher because the competition for non-governmental donations becomes even tougher.
Everybodys being told whats being taken away, she said. People are pulling at grant officers and individuals with stock market gains. I think its more than the funding, though. I think its about really recognizing how the world already feels so disconnected and now feels even more so.
Storytelling, Eggleton said, helps reduce that. By focusing on female changemakers, Elevate Studios makes an even stronger point, she said, adding shes been quoting Spanish poet Antonio Machado There is no path/We make the path by walking as she explains the power of the series.
This is the time that we really do need to figure out how we build empathy through stories and not necessarily saying, Youre wrong or youre right, she said. You just show the world what can be and what should be.
Glenn Gamboa, AP business writer
Precious metal investors who hold gold assets are having a good day today. The king of precious metals, gold, has broken through an all-time high and is currently trading at over $3,551 per ounce as of the time of this writing.
The milestone highlights a terrific year for gold so far. Heres what you need to know and why gold just hit an all-time high.
Whats happened?
The price of one ounce of gold hit an all-time high on Tuesday. One ounce of the precious metal passed $3,551 this morning, a new record.
Golds rise post Labor Day is just the latest bit of good news for investors in the precious metal this year. Since the beginning of 2025, golds value has increased by more than 36%. Over the past year, gold has surged more than 42%.
Golds previous milestone was only six months ago in March, when the metal surpassed the $3,000 mark for the first time. It has since surged more than $500 per ounce, hitting todays price of more than $3,550.
Why is gold surging?
There are several factors likely influencing the record-busting price of gold as of late.
The first is that gold is often regarded as a safe-haven asset during times of economic uncertainty. Theres a good chance that when stock markets are falling, gold is rising. Thats because investors seek safe-haven assets that are less volatile than stocks.
This year has been marked by uncertainty. Since President Trump took office for the second time in January and unleashed his tariffs upon the world in the spring, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty have spread across the globe, worrying investors.
Such uncertainty has prompted some investors to seek safe-haven assets, such as gold.
A potential crisis for the Fed
But gold is likely also rising thanks to more recent Trump-fueled events, too. Specifically, President Trump has recently intensified his attacks on the Federal Reserve, increasing his criticism of the central bank and its monetary policies, particularly regarding interest rates, which the president believes are too high.
In his war with the Fed, Trump has vocalized his desire to see Fed Chair Jerome Powell replaced, and, most recently, has announced the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cooksomething Cook is challenging through the courts.
Many economists fear Trump is trying to destroy the Feds independence and staff it with loyalists who will do his bidding, which would put the faith that global institutions and governments have in Americas central bank. This fear has already impacted the value of the U.S. dollar, which is also considered a traditional safe-haven asset.
The Fed is widely expected to reduce interest rates by 0.25% on September 17. The rate cut, if it happens, would likely lead to a further decline in the dollars value. As Reuters notes, non-yielding gold often performs well in a low-interest-rate environment.
Tariff uncertainty
A final likely reason gold is up in recent days is Trumps tariffs. Not his imposition of them, but the possibility that most of the tariffs Trump has levied against countries since the spring are illegal and thus unenforceable.
A U.S. appeals court vote of 74 on August 29 against the Trump Administration leaves open the possibility that the U.S. government may have to repay most of the tariffs it has collected so far. The ruling casts further uncertainty over the U.S. and global economiesand is a significant factor in why U.S. markets are down on their first trading day after the Labor Day holiday.
As noted by Reuters, the court has allowed the tariffs to remain in place until October 14, and the Trump Administration has already said it will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up a significant courtroom showdown that could greatly curtailor reinforceTrumps power.
Until then, investors seem to believe that gold may be one of the best bets as a hedge against the ongoing economic uncertainty.
U.S. stocks are tumbling on Tuesday, and some of Wall Street’s biggest stars are leading the way lower.The S&P 500 sank 1.2% and was on track for its worst loss in a month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 498 points, or 1.1%, as of 9:37 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was down a market-leading 1.4%. All three are still close to their recently set records.Nvidia and other companies that have benefited from the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology were some of the heaviest weights on the market. They have soared for years on expectations that they’re at the vanguard of the next revolution for the global economy. But they’ve also shot so high that critics say their prices have simply become too expensive.Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the move into AI, fell 2.3%. Broadcom, another chip giant, fell 2.1%.The overall stock market was feeling pressure from rising yields in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.27% from 4.23% late Friday. When bonds are paying more in interest, investors are less willing to pay high prices for stocks.Longer-term bond yields are on the rise around the world, in part because of worries about how difficult it will be for governments to repay their growing mountains of debt.In the United States, Treasury yields are feeling additional pressure from President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Federal Reserve for not cutting interest rates sooner. The fear is that a less independent Fed will be less likely to make the unpopular decisions needed to keep inflation under control, such as keeping short-term interest rates higher than investors would like.Tuesday was also the first opportunity for trading in the U.S. Treasury market after a federal appeals court ruled that Trump overstepped his legal authority when announcing sweeping tariffs on almost every country on Earth, though it left the tariffs in place for now. While the tariffs have created confusion and may have hurt the U.S. job market, they also have brought in revenue that could help the U.S. government pay some of its debt.In another signal about increasing worries in financial markets, the price of gold rose 1% and was near its record. The metal has often provided a haven for investors in times of uncertainty.On Wall Street, Constellation Brands tumbled 6.4% after the beer, wine and spirits company warned that it’s seen a slowdown in purchases of its high-end beers, particularly among its Hispanic customers. That pushed it to slash its forecast for profit this fiscal year.Kraft Heinz slipped 1.4% after announcing that it’s splitting into two, a decade after a merger of the brands created one of the biggest food companies on the planet.One of the companies will include shelf stable meals and include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include the Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables brands. The official names of the two companies will be released later.Among the market’s few gainers was PepsiCo, which jumped 3.5% after an investment firm said it sent suggestions to the company’s board to reaccelerate its growth and boost financial performance. The investor, Elliott Management, has a history of buying into companies and then pushing for big changes that can lead to better stock performance.In stock markets abroad, indexes slumped across Europe, with Germany’s DAX losing 2%. That was after a more mixed finish in Asia, where indexes rose 0.9% in Seoul but fell 0.5% in Hong Kong.
AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
Stan Choe, AP Business Writer
Packaged food giant the Kraft Heinz Company announced on Tuesday that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to split into two separate, publicly traded companies.
The proposed split will essentially reverse a merger between the companies from 2015, which has not provided favorable long-term results.
Shares of Kraft Heinz (NYSE:KHC) were down more than 4% in early trading on Tuesday after the announcement. The stock is down 13% year to date and more than 25% over the last 12 months.
What will the breakup look like?
The names of the two separate companies have yet to be decided.
The first company, referred to in the news release as Global Taste Elevation Co., will primarily feature shelf-stable meals. It will include brands like Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Philadelphia.
The second company, referred to in the news release as North American Grocery Co., will feature a scaled portfolio of North American staples. It will include brands like Kraft Singles, Lunchables, and Oscar Mayer.
The proposed separation is intended to be tax-free, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of 2026.
According to Kraft Heinz, the split is intended to maximize Kraft Heinzs capabilities and brands while reducing complexity, allowing both new companies to more effectively deploy resources toward their distinct strategic priorities.”
“By separating into two companies, we can allocate the right level of attention and resources to unlock the potential of each brand to drive better performance and the creation of long-term shareholder value,” said Miguel Patricio, executive chair of the Kraft Heinz board, in a statement.
A question-and-answer session is scheduled for today, Tuesday, September 2, 2025.
Mega-merged companies are thinking smaller
The proposed split follows a recent trend in which larger companies are splitting into two smaller entities, sometimes undoing the size and scale they’d achieved by merging in the first place.
In 2023, The Kellogg Companys board of directors approved a plan to split into two separate entities: Kellanova, which would focus on snack foods, and WK Kellogg Co, which would primarily focus on cereals. The separation was finalized in October 2023.
Unilever, meanwhile, announced plans in 2024 to spin off its ice cream division as a separate company. The Magnum Ice Cream Company, which will operate as a stand-alone business featuring brands such as Ben & Jerrys, Magnum, and Wall’s, is expected to go public during the last quarter of 2025.
And just last week, Keurig Dr Pepper announced its ultimate plans to split into two separate companies. It will acquire JDE Peets, then operate as two businessesone focused on coffee and another on other beverages, such as sodas and energy drinks.
It’s tomato season and Lidia is harvesting on farms in California’s Central Valley.She is also anxious. Attention from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could upend her life more than 23 years after she illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border as a teenager.“The worry is they’ll pull you over when you’re driving and ask for your papers,” said Lidia, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition that only her first name be used because of her fears of deportation. “We need to work. We need to feed our families and pay our rent.”As parades and other events celebrating the contributions of workers in the U.S. are held Monday for the Labor Day holiday, experts say President Donald Trump’s stepped-up immigration policies are impacting the nation’s labor force.More than 1.2 million immigrants disappeared from the labor force from January through the end of July, according to preliminary Census Bureau data analyzed by the Pew Research Center. That includes people who are in the country illegally as well as legal residents.Immigrants make up almost 20% of the U.S. workforce and that data shows 45% of workers in farming, fishing and forestry are immigrants, according to Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer. About 30% of all construction workers are immigrants and 24% of service workers are immigrants, she added.The loss in immigrant workers comes as the nation is seeing the first decline in the overall immigrant population after the number of people in the U.S. illegally reached an all-time high of 14 million in 2023.“It’s unclear how much of the decline we’ve seen since January is due to voluntary departures to pursue other opportunities or avoid deportation, removals, underreporting or other technical issues,” Kramer said. “However, we don’t believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn’t real.”Trump campaigned on a promise to deport millions of immigrants working in the U.S. illegally. He has said he is focusing deportation efforts on “dangerous criminals,” but most people detained by ICE have no criminal convictions. At the same time, the number of illegal border crossings has plunged under his policies.Pia Orrenius, a labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said immigrants normally contribute at least 50% of job growth in the U.S.“The influx across the border from what we can tell is essentially stopped, and that’s where we were getting millions and millions of migrants over the last four years,” she said. “That has had a huge impact on the ability to create jobs.”
‘Crops did go to waste’
Just across the border from Mexico in McAllen, Texas, corn and cotton fields are about ready for harvesting. Elizabeth Rodriguez worries there won’t be enough workers available for the gins and other machinery once the fields are cleared.Immigration enforcement actions at farms, businesses and construction sites brought everything to a standstill, said Rodriguez, director of farmworker advocacy for the National Farmworker Ministry.“In May, during the peak of our watermelon and cantaloupe season, it delayed it. A lot of crops did go to waste,” she said.In Ventura County, California, northwest of Los Angeles, Lisa Tate manages her family business that grows citrus fruits, avocados and coffee on eight ranches and 800 acres (323 hectares).Most of the men and women who work their farms are contractor-provided day laborers. There were days earlier this year when crews would be smaller. Tate is hesitant to place that blame on immigration policies. But the fear of ICE raids spread quickly.Dozens of area farmworkers were arrested late this spring.“People were being taken out of laundromats, off the side of the road,” Tate said.Lidia, the farmworker who spoke to the AP through an interpreter, said her biggest fear is being sent back to Mexico. Now 36, she is married with three school-age children who were born here.“I don’t know if I’ll be able to bring my kids,” said Lidia. “I’m also very concerned I’d have to start from zero. My whole life has been in the United States.”
From construction to health care
Construction sites in and around McAllen also “are completely dead,” Rodriguez said.“We have a large labor force that is undocumented,” she said. “We’ve seen ICE particularly targeting construction sites and attempting to target mechanic and repair shops.”The number of construction jobs are down in about half of U.S. metropolitan areas, according to an Associated General Contractors of America analysis of government employment data. The largest loss of 7,200 jobs was in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California, area. The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area lost 6,200 jobs.“Construction employment has stalled or retreated in many areas for a variety of reasons,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But contractors report they would hire more people if only they could find more qualified and willing workers and tougher immigration enforcement wasn’t disrupting labor supplies.”Kramer, with Pew, also warns about the potential impact on health care. She says immigrants make up about 43% of home health care aides.The Service Employees International Union represents about 2 million workers in health care, the public sector and property services. An estimated half of long-term care workers who are members of SEIU 2015 in California are immigrants, said Arnulfo De La Cruz, the local’s president.“What’s going to happen when millions of Americans can no longer find a home care provider?” De La Cruz said. “What happens when immigrants aren’t in the field to pick our crops? Who’s going to staff our hospitals and nursing homes?” _ An earlier version of this story incorrectly referred to the name of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The name is not Immigration Control and Enforcement.
Corey Williams, Associated Press
In mid-August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory stating that select shrimp products destined for stores in the United States may be contaminated with Cesium-137 (Cs-137), a radioactive isotope that could have devastating health consequences.
Now, the FDA has issued additional alerts covering additional products that may be contaminated with the radioactive isotope, including some sold at major grocery store chains like Kroger. Heres what you need to know.
Whats happened?
In August, the FDA issued a food safety advisory alerting the pubic to potential Cs-137 contamination in select shrimp products.
Fast Company previously reported on the potentially radioactive shrimp that were sold at Walmart under the Great Value brand. A few days later, the FDA issued an additional notice expanding the radioactive shrimp recall to additional brands, including Sand Bar, Arctic Shores, Best Yet, Great American, and First Street.
At the heart of the recall is shrimp manufactured by an Indonesian-based supplier called BMS Foods. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) detected Cs-137 in shipping containers at four U.S. ports, which alerted the agency to the possibility of contaminated products.
Why is Cs-137 bad?
Due to nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s and 1960s, there are already trace amounts of Cs-137 in the environment. But exposure to larger concentrated amountslike contaminated foodcan cause serious health effects.
Cs-137 can damage DNA, leading to an increased risk of cancer. Ingestion of Cs-137 can also lead to acute radiation sickness.
After the CBPs discovery, the FDA posted two recall notices covering shrimp products sourced from BMS Foods. Now, the FDA has issued another three recall notices expanding the number of potentially radioactive shrimp products consumers should be on the lookout for.
What are the latest recalled products?
On August 28, the FDA published a new recall alert covering select shrimp products sold at Kroger and other grocery stores.
Under this recall, approximately 18,000 2lbs bags of Kroger Mercado Cooked Medium Peeled Tail-Off Shrimp are being recalled due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137.
The recalled products have the following codes:
UPC 011110626196, Lot code 10662 5139, Best Before 11/19/2027
UPC 011110626196, Lot code 10662 5140, Best Before 11/20/2027
The recalled products were sold between July 24 and August 11, 2025, at the following grocery stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, New England, Ohio, South Caroline, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia:
Bakers
Gerbes
Jay C
Kroger
Marianos
Metro Market
Pay Less Supermarkets
Pick n Save
Also on August 28, the FDA posted another radioactive shrimp recall notice for approximately 26,460 packages of Cocktail Shrimp 6oz manufactured by AquaStar (USA) Corp of Seattle, Washington, due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137.
The product has the UPC code 19434612191 and the Lot Codes 10662 5106, 10662 5107, 10662 5124, and 10662 5125.
This recalled product was sold between July 31 and August 16, 2025 at Walmart stores in Arkansas, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North dakaota, New England, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Fast Company reached out to Kroger and AquaStar for comment.
One day later, the FDA posted yet another recall notice, this one for frozen shrimp produced by Southwind Foods, LLC of Carson, California, due to the possibility of exposure to Cs-137.
This recalled shrimp was distributed to unnamed retailers, distributors, and wholesalers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, and Washington between July 17 – August 8, 2025.
What should I do if I have the radioactive shrimp products?
It should be noted that Cs-137 hasnt been confirmed to be present in all the recalled shrimp products above. Rather, the products are at risk of being contaminated with Cs-137.
As of the time of this writing, there are no known illnesses attributed to any of the recalled shrimp products with the potential for Cs-137 contamination.
The FDA says that if you have any of the recalled products, you should not consume them. Instead, you should dispose of the recalled shrimp products or return them to their place of purchase for a refund.
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, has resigned from the beverage group following a police investigation into his purchase of a supplement that may have breached the country’s strict drug laws.
Niinami, who has served as an adviser to several Japanese prime ministers and was often the face of corporate Japan at Davos and other international events, told Suntory he purchased the supplement believing it was legal, the company said on Tuesday.
The Tokyo Shimbun daily reported that police in Fukuoka prefecture are investigating whether supplements containing cannabis components had been sent to Niinami’s home a probe that is connected to a man who was arrested in July.
Other Japanese media said the supplements allegedly contained THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, which is illegal in Japan. CBD, a separate chemical compound from the cannabis plant, however, is legal, and products containing it are available in Japan.
Suntory, which makes whisky, beer and soft drinks such as Orangina-branded soda, said Niinami told the company he was the subject of a police investigation on August 22. He resigned on September 1.
Reuters was not able to immediately reach Niinami for comment.
Niinami, 66, significantly expanded Suntory’s revenue and profits, joining the drinks maker as president in 2014 shortly after it purchased U.S. spirits company Beam for $16 billion, including debt.
“He was a bold, decisive leader who got things done and I truly respected him,” Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii told a press briefing.
“In that respect and I told this to him yesterday as well it’s a real shame that we couldn’t continue as a team,” he said.
Torii, a former banker and great-grandson of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii, said he would now be fully helming the company.
According to Tokyo Shimbun, police questioned Niinami and searched his Tokyo home, but no illegal drug possession or use has been confirmed.
A Fukuoka Police official was not immediately available to comment on the reports.
Niinami, a fluent English speaker, is chair of the powerful Keizai Doyukai business lobby. Known for being outspoken, he wasn’t hesitant to voice his opinion on how Japan’s economy should be managed or how the central bank should act.
Keizai Doyukai officials were not immediately available for comment.
A graduate of Harvard Business School, he was previously chief executive of convenience store operator Lawson before becoming Suntory’s president, the first head of the firm from outside its founding family.
Japan has strict drug laws. Late last year, Japanese endoscope manufacturer Olympus Corp sacked then-CEO Stefan Kaufmann after an allegation that he had purchased illegal drugs.
In 2015, police arrested Toyota Motor executive Julie Hamp, an American, on suspicion of illegally importing the painkiller oxycodone into the country. She was later released.
Suntory is not publicly traded but shares in a listed unit, Suntory Beverage & Food, which manages its non-alcoholic beverages and food products business, were not overly affected, ending Tuesday up 3%.
Additional reporting by Chang-Ran Kim, Kentaro Okasaka, Satoshi Sugiyama and Kathleen Benoza
Anton Bridge and Mariko Katsumura, Reuters
