The FDA has announced a nationwide recall of smoked fish over concerns of listeria contamination.
The Haifa company in Jamaica, Queens is recalling smoked salmon and sea bass products that, according to the FDA, ‘were distributed nationwide through direct delivery to retails stores and distributors.’
Contamination was discovered after food inspectors with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets collected samples of the fish from the processing facility, which were sent to a lab where scientists discovered the bacterium that causes a severe illness called listeriosis.
Listeriosis typically causes fever, headache and diarrhea, but can progress to cause deadly complications, including a blood infection known as sepsis, inflammation in the brain and spinal cord, miscarriage or stillbirth in pregnant women and permanent brain damage.
No illnesses have been linked to the smoked salmon and sea bass, which can be identified by lot numbers 219 and 212, respectively.
The recalled fish is vacuum packaged on a paper board with flexible plastic. Customers are urged not to eat them and return the products to the store where they purchased them for a refund.
Anyone who has eaten the fish already should monitor themselves for symptoms in the coming weeks. The bacterium that causes listeriosis, Listeria monocytogenes, can lie dormant within the body, often without causing symptoms, and may reactivate later.
The incubation period for listeriosis, the time between exposure and the appearance of symptoms, can range from a few days to as long as 70 days.
No illnesses have been reported linked to the smoked salmon and sea bass, which can be identified by lot numbers 219 and 212, respectively (stock image)
The FDA said: ‘Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.’
Around 90 percent of people with listeriosis require hospitalization, while 20 and 30 percent of patients die. The CDC estimates that of 1,600 cases every year, roughly 260 do not survive.
Listeriosis typically affects seniors 65 and up more than any other age group, though infants are also particularly susceptible.
Seniors experience a phenomenon is called immunosenescence, or the gradual deterioration of the immune system that comes with natural age. It becomes slower, weaker and less coordinated.
Older adults are also more likely to have chronic health conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, cancer and heart disease that further compromise immune function and can exacerbate the effects of a bacterial infection.
Infants, particularly those under one month old, are at extreme risk because their immune systems are not yet fully developed.
They have not had enough time to build up their defenses. A newborn’s immune system has had little to no exposure to pathogens. Their T-cells and B-cells have not learned how to effectively fight off infections.
Listeria is particularly dangerous for pregnant women because it poses a devastating threat to the unborn baby.
New York state inspectors discovered Listeria contamination in the fish during routine facility sampling and lab testing
The recalled, vacuum-packed fish is sold in a paperboard and plastic package. Consumers should not eat it and may return it to the place of purchase for a refund
Pregnancy naturally causes changes in the immune system to protect the developing fetus, which the body sees as partly foreign. This suppressed immunity makes the mother more susceptible to infections in general, including Listeria.
Listeria monocytogenes has a rare and dangerous ability to cross the placental barrier.
Once it crosses, it can directly infect the fetus, which has a very underdeveloped immune system and is utterly defenseless.
Listeria monocytogenes is found in soil, rivers and lakes. I also occurs naturally in fish.
Cold-smoking, which creates the desired texture and taste, uses low temperatures that do not kill Listeria.
The bacteria can survive and multiply at refrigerated temperatures, especially when vacuum-sealed, providing an opportunity for its population to grow significantly during the extended shelf life of smoked fish.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .