22 herring products recalled by US processor due to health risks

Staten Island, New York-based company Royal Seafood Baza Inc. is recalling a number of its herring products after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors discovered traces of listeria at the processor’s plant.

The products, 22 in all, will be pulled from shelves and warehouses through to February 2017. Affected items were distributed to customers and wholesalers located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and North Carolina. All the ready-to-eat herring items in question are packaged for retail sale for consumers and arrive in bulk to wholesalers, according to Royal Seafood Baza in a recall notice it submitted to the FDA’s website.

“Wholesale customers of bulk containers must discontinue sales of existing stock of these items immediately and destroy any returned product as soon as possible,” Royal Seafood advised in the notice.

“The company has ceased production and distribution of the products and is working closely with FDA to monitor this situation to determine the source of the environmental contamination, and make the appropriate corrective actions,” the company added.

In October 2015, the FDA issued a warning letter to Royal Seafood Baza regarding several violations the agency discovered during a routine inspection of the company’s plant in March 2015. As of 2 December 2016, when Royal Seafood issued its latest recall notice, the agency had yet to post a closeout letter regarding those past findings.

No illnesses linked to the possibly contaminated products have been reported as of 2 December, however, infectious Listeria monocytogenes bacteria symptoms can take up to 70 days to manifest after ingestion.

Pack dates for many of the products up for recall are marked “11/2/16” to “11/30/16.” Products packaged in retail containers up for recall are marked with “Best before dates of 11.30.2016 through 02.28.2017,” and recalled vacuum-packaged bags are marked with “Pack dates of 11.09.16 – 11.30.16.”

“Herring products packaged in retail package have a 90-day shelf life, herring products in bulk buckets have a 28-day shelf life and herring products in vacuum packages have a 21-day shelf life,” the company said.

Specifics about the recalled products, including photos, can be found here: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm531563.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

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