Florida Fish Company to destroy Listeria-loaded smoked salmon
C.onsumer A.ffair
By John Roberts
Apr 16, 2005, 19:45
A smoked fish company in Florida agreed on Friday to destroy all smoked salmon and other seafood in its inventory to comply with a court ruling.
In January, government agencies and SeaSpeacialties, Inc., doing business as Florida Smoked Fish Company, detected listeria monocytogenes in 25 percent of eat-to-eat smoked salmon samples.
No illnesses have been reported in connection of the Listeria contamination, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer (FDAC).
Florida Smoked Fish Company products are distributed to wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, and cruise ships. The company has been in the seafood business for eighty years.
Listeria mnocytogenes is a lethal foodborne pathogen that affects primarily pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and others with immune system compromised.
According to FDAC, production of all products has been suspended while the company continues its investigation of the source of the problem and conducts in-depth cleaning and sanitizing to meet FDA regulations, and all smoked fish products in the plant's inventory will be destroyed.
The lawsuit was filed this month because SeaSpeacialties has not responded repeated warnings from the government.
