Scamping on the shrimp: Lawsuit alleges Walmart is filling frozen fish containers with too much ice
One fish fanatic has accused Walmart of skimping on its shrimp and duping customers into paying for ice instead of seafood, according to a lawsuit.
A class action lawsuit was filed October 8 in Cook County, Illinois, by Elijah Baptist, and accuses Walmart of deceiving customers and violating state consumer laws with the Great Value product’s packaging, according to Top Class Actions.
Baptist claims he frequently buys the frozen shrimp, including for a seafood party he threw this past June, but was disappointed to learn that some of the bags were severely underweight — with some containing up to 11 percent less shrimp than advertised.
The lawsuit alleges that Great Value shrimp products are coated with an ice glaze, which is standard for frozen seafood products to prevent freezer burn. However, Baptist argues that Great Value’s frozen shrimp fails to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
According to the FDA, the weight of the glaze cannot be included in the net weight of the product, and manufacturers can be criminally liable if they include the weight of the ice in the net product amount.
Baptist said in the suit that had he known he was not getting as much shrimp as was advertised, he wouldn’t have bought it.
A jumbo bag of Walmart’s frozen, raw, on-tail shrimp sells for about $16 for 2 pounds, and advertises between 21 and 25 shrimp per pound, according to The New York Post.
“We have policies in place to help ensure suppliers provide correctly labeled products,” a Walmart spokesperson told The Independent. “We are reviewing the complaint and will respond in court.”
The class action lawsuit is looking to represent all Illinois consumers who bought Walmart’s Great Value shrimp products. A specific figure for damages has not yet been determined.
Great Value frozen shrimp previously made headlines in August 2025, when some of the types of shrimp at Walmart were recalled due to possible contamination with Cesium-137, which is a radioactive isotope.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to significant amounts of Cs-137 can cause burns, acute radiation sickness, and, in severe cases, death.
