You Need To Read This If You Recently Bought Smoked Fish
If you live in Washington State, you might want to avoid purchasing smoked fish at the moment. Food Safety News reports that the FDA had brought possible Listeria contamination to the attention of Felix Custom Smoking, a company based in Monroe, Washington. It processes ready-to-eat salmon and squid jerky as well as frozen, hot smoked, and cold smoked seafood. The findings were part of an inspection the FDA began on July 19, but Felix Custom Smoking has refused to issue a recall of its products.
In response, the FDA has issued a general warning to the public, recommending that people discard any products branded by Felix Custom Smoking. The particular products are Felix Northwest Blend Smoked Wild King Salmon, Felix Northwest Blend Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon, Felix Northwest Blend Smoked Wild Tuna, Felix Pepper Smoked Wild Mixed Salmon Jerky, and Felix Wild Keta Teriyaki Smoked Salmon Jerky.
To the best of our knowledge, Felix Custom Smoking is still processing its food as of this writing.
The issue is bigger than just one company
On a similar note, the FDA shared news of a recall made by the Loki Fish Company on August 23. The product in question was the Keta Salmon Lox, which was distributed in Portland and Seattle. The issue was possible Listeria contamination.
The time and place of the recall are not a coincidence. The reason that the Loki Fish Company was concerned over its product was that Felix Custom Smoking had prepared the lox in the question. The point, then, is that Felix Custom Smoking does not simply sell branded products; it processes smoked fish that could be sold by other businesses, as in the case of Loki Fish. Unfortunately, to our knowledge, Felix Custom Smoking lacks a website that lists its customers. So everyone and especially the young, pregnant, and elderly should avoid seafood products that might have passed through the company's hands. At least, until enough time has passed for the situation to resolve.