Smoked salmon contaminated with listeria is believed to have killed two people in Australia.
One resident of Victoria and another from New South Wales died after eating the tainted salmon, which is believed to have originated in the Australian state of Tasmania. The contaminated product is also blamed for sickening a third person – a resident of Queensland – who ingested it. All three victims were over the age of 70 and had underlying health problems, according to Australia’s Commonwealth Department of Health, which investigated the three cases of listeriosis.
The department said the cases arose between 22 February and 7 June, 2019. Australia Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said in a statement he was unsure whether contaminated fish was fresh or packaged.
“This is a timely reminder for people to ensure that food is handled, prepared and stored safely, and that those most at-risk of listeriosis avoid certain foods,” Murphy said.
Despite the outbreak, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman said the state’s salmon producers had been cleared of any food safety breaches, according to The Australian.
Tasmania’s three largest salmon producers – Huon Aquaculture, Tassal Group, and Petuna Aquaculture – each issued statements asserting their seafood products had been tested and deemed safe for consumption.
Nevertheless, the Tasmanian Greens, a political party that has criticized Australia’s salmon-farming industry, called for “a thorough investigation of salmon farming processes as a matter of urgency,” according to The Australian.
“A clean bill of health seems premature. Blameless people have died after eating Tasmanian farmed salmon,” Greens spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff said. “Until the source is identified and information made publicly available, public confidence in the safety of Tasmanian salmon will be negatively affected.”
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