The company in India that supplied the yellowfin tuna implicated in the multistate outbreak of Salmonella infections linked to sushi is recalling 22-lb. cases of frozen tuna strips because they, too, may be contaminated with Salmonella.
In a news release Wednesday, Moon Fishery (India) Pvt. Ltd. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration isolated Salmonella in a sample of tuna strips that had not yet been distributed.
As a cautionary measure, according to the company, it agreed to recall frozen tuna strips that had already been shipped, although it said none of those shipments “is from the suspect lot sampled by the FDA.”
The recalled tuna strips were shipped to four wholesalers in Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, Moon India said. Originally packaged in white boxes with black writing naming the importer as Moon Marine USA Corporation, a separate and independent company, the recalled frozen raw yellow tuna fin was identified as Tuna Strips AA or AAA, Product of India. The boxes contained several vacuum-wrapped packages with no further labeling.
However, because the four wholesalers that received the cases may have broken the shipments into smaller lots for further distribution, the recalled tuna may no longer have any labeling information or lot numbers, the company noted.
Moon India advises product sellers, including distributors and restaurants, to ask their suppliers whether any frozen tuna strips in their inventory came from the recalled lot.
“Consumers should take precautions when choosing to eat raw seafood and be sure that the raw tuna they decide to consume is not from the implicated lots. If in doubt, don’t eat it,” the company warned in its recall announcement.
Moon India said distribution of its tuna has been suspended while the FDA continues its investigation.
As of May 2, 258 people infected with Salmonella Bareilly or Salmonella Nichanga had been reported from 24 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says frozen yellowfin tuna, called Nakaochi Scrape, imported from India is the likely source of the outbreak. Many of those sickened reported eating sushi — in particular “spicy tuna sushi” — in the week before they became ill.
Moon Marine USA Corp. of Cupertino, CA recalled 58,828 lbs. of Nakaochi Scrape, which is leftover backmeat separated from the bones of tuna that have have been filleted. The scrape was produced by Moon Fishery (India).