Louisiana Dry shrimp ?

[uop1497]

Hello,

I bought 6lbs dried shrimp from a company name Louisiana Dried Shrimp

Grand Isle, LA 70358
504-382-0140

I placed my order thru that phone number and I received the package 3-4 days later. I paid $12 for the cost of this shipment plus the cost of the shrimp. I was told over the phone, the company will ship the shrimp and will include the envelope (with address) for me to pay with check or money order . Total price is ~$100 US dollars

This shipment box was left at my porch by the mail man. When I receive it, I saw many ant outside the box.

I took it inside my house and open it. There is a colony of ant inside and they get into all dry shrimp bag. The shrimp bag was package with zip log bag . It is not a good seal .

I tried to contact (2 days) the company several time for the last 2 days, but no one is pickup and the phone mail box is full . Here is my question

1) Is the shrimp still safe to eat. ? I do not want to eat it after saw many ants inside , all over the shrimps

2) Should I sent my payment to pay for it and never again to do business with this company. DH think I should pay because the company deliver the product . I do not agree because the company should pack their product better

4) If I send back the shrimp, who would pay for the cost of shipment.

3) Who falt it is in this case, the mail man or the company (in term of Ant get in the food) . Or it is me because I am not at home to receive the package on time . Not sure how and when ants get in .

I cant find their email address in order to contact them by email . If you do know, please share.

Please give me inputs of what is the best option I can do.

Thank you

 

[DeniseM]

How did you originally FIND this company?

Did you google the name to find if they have a website?

Food products need special handling when they are shipped - if it was not packaged and shipped properly by the company, I would not accept it, or pay for it.

I would pkg. it up in a larger box just as you received it with all packaging in place, ants and all, and return it with a firm letter refusing the shipment and canceling your order.

Use a trackable mailing method to ensure that you can prove that you sent it back.

Dear Sir;

On Sept. 30, 2015, I received the dried shrimp that I ordered from you. They were not packaged or shipped correctly, and were not fit to eat.

I am returning them to you and canceling my order.

Sincerely
Your Name

 

[uop1497]

Denise,

I come to know about this company by this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAoKp_nJwUs

There is someone (in another website) who order and posted picture of dried shrimps . She bought dried shrimp and talked to the owner directly herself. She posted an images of dried shrimp on line but not go in the detail .

When I place my order, I think of this company highly. In my opinion, if a company which send their product and collect money later, they must have a good quality product . Until I receive the shipment, I am surprised to see the product is packed in zip lock bag .

I hope I can contact the company to heard what they have to say. However, it is very difficult since no one pick up the phone. I learned a lesson from this purchased .

Will Post office agree to ship the box contain many ant inside? Will I have any problem at the post office. I remember last time I ship some home make food to a friend, Post office personnel asked me what inside the box . Not sure if I tell dried shrimp with many ants, will they allow me to ship it back.

 

[am1]

Denise,

Will Post office agree to ship the box contain many ant inside? Will I have any problem at the post office. I remember last time I ship some home make food to a friend, Post office personnel asked me what inside the box . Not sure if I tell dried shrimp with many ants, will they allow me to ship it back.

I would not pay. Good way to infect other packages if the ants are still moving around.

 

[DeniseM]

This is NOT your fault in any way!

There is no reason to continue trying to contact the company - you already tried to call.

The fact that they don't answer the phone and their voice mail is full is on them.

Seal everything up in the box really well, so the ants can't get out, and return it.

I would not discuss the problem with the post office AT all. Don't mention the ants.

Problem solved!

 

[Passepartout]

If there is room in a freezer, you could put the bag of shrimp- ants and all- in it overnight- at least several hours. That should kill the ants so there is no danger of the little creepers scampering out at the post office. Then box 'em up and return to shipper.

Jim

 

[Ty1on]

Denise,

I come to know about this company by this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAoKp_nJwUs

There is someone (in another website) who order and posted picture of dried shrimps . She bought dried shrimp and talked to the owner directly herself. She posted an images of dried shrimp on line but not go in the detail .

When I place my order, I think of this company highly. In my opinion, if a company which send their product and collect money later, they must have a good quality product . Until I receive the shipment, I am surprised to see the product is packed in zip lock bag .

I hope I can contact the company to heard what they have to say. However, it is very difficult since no one pick up the phone. I learned a lesson from this purchased .

Will Post office agree to ship the box contain many ant inside? Will I have any problem at the post office. I remember last time I ship some home make food to a friend, Post office personnel asked me what inside the box . Not sure if I tell dried shrimp with many ants, will they allow me to ship it back.

It shows them in ziplock bags on the YouTube video....

 

[pedro47]

I would also take some photos of the package & ants for your record.

What are dried shrimp?

 

[DeniseM]

Link in post #3: link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAoKp_nJwUs

 

[uop1497]

Thank you ALL for giving your advice .

When I discover a lot of ants , I just bring it out and leave the box outside immediately without thinking of taking any picture since there is many ants inside the box.

Here is images of dried shrimp. Not the one I received from Louisiana Company

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...XXQY9xKZNUdY3gkTkJJvN51xwXEX5sPvHH6kejp8u7BN3

I just wonder if I place the whole box in the large bag and closed very tight, will All ants die eventually because lack of air .

 

[DeniseM]

Thank you ALL for giving your advice .

When I discover a lot of ants , I just bring it out and leave the box outside immediately without thinking of taking any picture since there is many ants inside the box.

Here is images of dried shrimp. Not the one I received from Louisiana Company

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/...XXQY9xKZNUdY3gkTkJJvN51xwXEX5sPvHH6kejp8u7BN3

I just wonder if I place the whole box in the large bag and closed very tight, will All ants die eventually because lack of air .

That is a good idea, but you need to send this back immediately. Don't delay - send it tomorrow.

 

[Passepartout]

I just wonder if I place the whole box in the large bag and closed very tight, will All ants die eventually because lack of air .

They will live a LONG LONG time even in a closed bag. As I said earlier, put the bag of shrimp/ants in the freezer for several hours to kill them. Even that might not do it, but it's worth a try. If that doesn't work, put the whole mess in a 250 degree or higher oven for an hour or so.

 

[DeniseM]

They will live a LONG LONG time even in a closed bag. As I said earlier, put the bag of shrimp/ants in the freezer for several hours to kill them. Even that might not do it, but it's worth a try. If that doesn't work, put the whole mess in a 250 degree or higher oven for an hour or so.

Freezer would do less damage. I'd worry that the oven might do damage to the shrimp or packaging that would cause the seller to question the condition.

Personally, I'd seal the original box with packing tape, and then double seal the original box in garbage bags, and then pack the whole thing in a bigger box and seal it good, and to hell with the ants!

 

[Egret1986]

Why go to the effort and cost to ship this product back?

I don't get that. Document it with pictures. The OP has tried contacting the merchant without success. The OP has not paid for the product as far as I can tell (envelope included to pay by check or money order).

I paid $12 for the cost of this shipment plus the cost of the shrimp. I was told over the phone, the company will ship the shrimp and will include the envelope (with address) for me to pay with check or money order . Total price is ~$100 US dollars


Why should the OP incur the time and expense, and put this product in the mail stream? We call that "hazardous materials" in the USPS. I'm sure the merchant probably does not want the product back.

I say take pictures and trash it if it hasn't been paid for, which sounds like it hasn't. If it has been paid for, dispute it with credit card. Toss it!

 

[DeniseM]

Pictures can be staged - returning the product leaves no doubt that is was not fit for consumption, and that it was not kept or eaten by the OP.

 

[Passepartout]

A hundred bucks worth of dried shrimps oughtta be a lot of shrimps. I'd send them back as intact as possible, complete with wildlife, along with a note that they REALLY wanted the shrimps (if they did- and still do) and say that they were infested by no fault of the company. Ask for another shipment. A reputable supplier should replace them- either at a discount, or including some additional product. Oh, as well as the return shipping.

Love to hear how this works out. By the way, Amazon has several suppliers' dried Louisiana shrimp, and their customer service is second to none.

Jim

 

[DeniseM]

I would NOT order from them again.

The OP said the ants were inside all of the bags of shrimp. IMNSHO, they were not packaged correctly. They should have been in sealed packages. If packaged and shipped the same way next time, she could end up with the very same results.

I took it inside my house and open it. There is a colony of ant inside and they get into all dry shrimp bag. The shrimp bag was package with zip log bag . It is not a good seal .

 

[Egret1986]

Does your package contain anything hazardous, liquid or perishable?

This is NOT your fault in any way!

There is no reason to continue trying to contact the company - you already tried to call.

The fact that they don't answer the phone and their voice mail is full is on them.

Seal everything up in the box really well, so the ants can't get out, and return it.

I would not discuss the problem with the post office AT all. Don't mention the ants.

Problem solved!

I think the answer would be "yes". This is required to be asked at the counter when shipping packages at USPS.

Will Post office agree to ship the box contain many ant inside? Will I have any problem at the post office. I remember last time I ship some home make food to a friend, Post office personnel asked me what inside the box . Not sure if I tell dried shrimp with many ants, will they allow me to ship it back.

Yes, and they will ask you the same questions when you take this box in to ship it. Problem solved if you choose not to be honest about what is really in the box.

Good way to infect other packages if the ants are still moving around.

Agreed.

OP indicates in same paragraph that they paid for shipping and shrimp, but then that they received an envelope for the payment and felt it must be a good quality product if didn't have to pay until after shipment was received.

Still seems like a lot to go through and added cost.

As stated by DeniseM, it's on them if the company isn't answering the phone and the voice message box is full.....and that it's not the OP's fault.

You all can put an infested box in your freezer or oven, then trudge it down to the USPS, lie to the clerk at the counter when questioned about the contents and pay for shipping back to the company. As for me, I would toss it. Let the merchant contact me when they get around to wondering about payment. It seems like a strange way to do business....sending product and then hoping payment comes afterwards.

Good luck, OP, with whatever you decide. Since you were able to get through on the telephone when you ordered and can't now; perhaps, you weren't the only one to receive a "problem" shipment and they are being inundated with phone calls.

 

[uop1497]

Thank you everyone for continue giving me advice. DH feels that there is something wrong with the way the company doing their business and he thinks a legit company will answer their phone and to check the phone message.

He does not wants me to spend any more time to contact the company nor to lie to post office personnel. A lesson learned and I will not order anything without a valid website and to pay with credit card in the future.

His point is if I ship the box back, I already pay for shipment cost and there is no guarantee the company will send with me a product in better package. If that happens, I will have to deal with that all over again.

DH decides to send a check with a note indicated that shrimp was infected by Ants. The note also mentioned we can not contact the company by phone. If the company really care and want to gain customer trust, DH expects the owner will respond when he reads our note .

I do not totally agree, but will let DH do so . We are leaving town this weekend to attend some urgent business. I will update if the owner reply .

 

[pedro47]

Should the OP contact someone in the state of California consumer affairs office about this problem and for advice?

 

[Larry8181]

When food is shipped it should be vacuum sealed in a vacuum sealable bag to help keep out contaminants. This of course is more expensive but the right way to go about business.

 

[DeniseM]

Should the OP contact someone in the state of California consumer affairs office about this problem and for advice?

About a Louisiana company?

 

[Passepartout]

His point is if I ship the box back, I already pay for shipment cost and there is no guarantee the company will send with me a product in better package. If that happens, I will have to deal with that all over again.

DH decides to send a check with a note indicated that shrimp was infected by Ants. The note also mentioned we can not contact the company by phone. If the company really care and want to gain customer trust, DH expects the owner will respond when he reads our note .

I do not totally agree, but will let DH do so . We are leaving town this weekend to attend some urgent business. I will update if the owner reply .

I think DH has the right idea. At some point you just have to come to the conclusion that you've made a crummy decision to buy from an unknown source. In Latin, they say "Caveat Emptor". Let the buyer beware. It's pretty obvious that this is a small, 'Mom 'n' Pop' company that chooses to advertise on social media, and not retail through usual outlets. They are not completely tending to business. They'll never become a bigger business if they don't change their ways.

Sorry you got an infested package. Keep us informed- not that any TUGgers are going to be great customers of Louisiana Dried Shrimp.

Jim

 

[DeniseM]

I think DH has the right idea.

I would much rather have paid $10-20 to ship it back, than pay $100 for a bad product. YMMV

 

[Passepartout]

I would much rather have paid $10-20 to ship it back, than pay $100 for a bad product. YMMV

Me too, but it was his decision. Still, a reputable seller should make it right. Whether they do remains to be seen.