A United States seafood supplier is recalling Vietnamese frozen ground tuna because it may be contaminated with salmonella.
Jensen Tuna in Houma, Louisiana, U.S.A., is recalling the tuna imported from Vietnamese exporter JK Fish in response to a U.S. government investigation of 13 illnesses believed to be caused by salmonella. While Jensen’s ground tuna samples were found negative for salmonella, “epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicates that frozen, raw ground tuna supplied by Jensen Tuna is the likely source of this outbreak,” the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said in a press release.
Two people have been hospitalized due to salmonella and no deaths have been reported, according to the CDC.
“There was no salmonella found in the frozen ground tuna, but for precautionary steps, the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] asked us to recall it,” Hai Cao, compliance representative for Jensen Tuna, told SeafoodSource. “For us, it’s all about safety and making sure people don’t get sick. We want to [do] our part and make sure we recall anything the FDA deems should be recalled.”
Jensen Tuna, the largest supplier of fresh tuna in the U.S., only imports frozen ground tuna and does not process it, Cao added.
The FDA said that the frozen ground tuna was sold to wholesalers in Connecticut, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, North Dakota, New York, and Washington. The wholesalers distributed the product to restaurants and retailers – typically for use in sushi – between 30 November, 2018, and 15 March, 2019.
The tuna is individually packaged in clear plastic one-pound bags and sold in white wax 20-pound boxes. The affected lot numbers are: z266, z271 and z272. The FDA said that no other tuna products are included in the recall.
“Restaurants and retailers should check with their suppliers and not sell or serve recalled frozen ground tuna and should wash and sanitize locations where recalled ground tuna was stored,” FDA said in a press release. “Consumers with concerns should ask their restaurants and retailers whether the tuna dish they are purchasing contained the recalled ground tuna.”
