Romanian agency clamps down after Listeria in salmon recalls

The Romanian food safety agency has stepped up controls after repeated recalls of fish products because of Listeria.

Eight recalls have been issued since the start of this year for Listeria in salmon involving retailers such as Auchan, Kaufland and Carrefour.

The National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA) commissioned enhanced controls following the incidents. The agency has not reported any related illnesses.

During these checks, samples were taken from different batches of finished items and from areas of production and packaging of finished products with processed samples sent to laboratories for analysis. Results showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon fillet finished product samples from two unnamed fish processing units.

Health inspection teams went to these establishments and ordered the suspension of the smoked salmon fillet production lines. They detained 134 kilograms of products and imposed sanctions totaling 42,000 Romanian Leu ($10,000 U.S.).

Recalls have been made based on distribution lists provided by the two fish processing units. Almost 100 kilograms have been withdrawn from the market and products have been destroyed.

Officials with ANSVSA said the recall of smoked salmon fillets from the two fish processing units is in progress and carried out under the supervision of its inspectors.

Ocean Fish SRL withdrew “Somon Afumat Blueshark” 100 gram packages with lot number 08032019 and an expiration date of March 8 sold at Kaufland last week.

Ocean Fish “File de somon afumat Norvegia” in 100-gram packages with lot number 22032019 and dated March 22 and “File de somon afumat Kids” in 50-gram packages with lot number 16032019 and dated March 16 were recalled from Auchan.

Ocean Fish “File de somon afumat Kids 50g” and ‘Somon Afumat Blueshark” with the same dates and codes as above were also recalled from Carrefour.

“Pouce File de somon afumat” in 100-gram packages with expiry dates of Feb. 23 and March 1 sold at Auchan had previously been recalled.

The first incident in January saw Negro 2000 SRL recall “File de somon afumat in 140-gram packages with lot 51 C and dated Feb.4 from Carrefour.

Listeriosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. The incubation period is usually one to two weeks but can vary between a few days up to three months. Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely to contract listeriosis than other healthy adults. Other high-risk groups include people older than 65, younger than 5, and people with suppressed immune systems.

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