Multiple Seafood Recalls Issued

Consumers should take a quick look before they plan to make seafood for dinner. Amid a string of recalls making grocery store shelves look a little barer, two new seafood recalls have just hit the market, and they affect everything from salmon to ready-to-eat seafood meals and span across multiple states.

After first issuing a voluntary recall in July, Albertsons Companies on Aug. 31 expanded its recall of ready-to-eat seafood meals sold at its supermarkets in 25 states and Washington, D.C. Covering three different 12-oz. ReadyMeals packages, the initial recall only included sell-through dates up to and including July 18. However, the recall has since expanded to include sell-through date up to and including Sept. 1 for ReadyMeals Shrimp Cooked With Cocktail Sauce (UPC: 23463800000 and ReadyMeals Snow Crab Legs Imitation Surimi (23463900000), according to a release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The meals are all packaged in clear plastic containers with four compartments and available for purchase at Safeway and Albertsons located in Oregon and select cities in Washington state. ReadyMeals Crab & Shrimp with cocktail sauce (23253500000) was included in the original recall, but and Albertsons Companies has not expanded the recall for this product. The recall is in response to undeclared allergens. An internal technical review found that the recalled products included undeclared allergens including shrimp, egg, wheat, and soy, which were not listed in the ingredients on the packages.

Also hitting the seafood section at grocery stores is a recall of smoked salmon. On Sept. 2, the FDA alerted consumers that St. James Smokehouse recalled 93 cases of St. James Smokehouse brand, Scotch Reserve Scottish Smoked Salmon sold in 4oz Packages due to possible listeria contamination. Sold and distributed between February and June 2022 to stores located in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Washington State, Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as Safeway Washington State stores, the recall only includes products with lot number 123172 and UPC code 060022710356. The company initiated the recall after routine sampling by the Washington State Department of Agriculture revealed that the finished product contained Listeria monocytogenes, a bacterium can lead to serious illness. Listeria can cause high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. In some cases, it can be fatal.

In both cases, no illnesses or adverse reactions have been reported to date in connection to the recalled seafood products. However, due to the health risks the products pose, consumers have been advised against eating the recalled Albertsons Companies ReadyMeals packages and St. James Smokehouse brand Scotch Reserve Scottish Smoked Salmon. The products should be discarded or returned for a full refund.