BOTULISM, SALTED FISH - USA (03): (FLORIDA) ex CANADA, RISK, RECALL
*******************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
http://www.promedmail.org
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
http://www.isid.org
Date: Fri 12 Dec 2008
Source: US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) News [edited]
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01924.html
The USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning retailers and
food service operators not to offer for sale ungutted, salt-cured
alewives (also called gaspereaux fish) from Michel & Charles LeBlanc
Fisheries Ltd., CAP-PELE, New Brunswick, Canada, because the fish may
contain the _Clostridium botulinum_ toxin. Consumers should not
consume the product.
_C. botulinum_ toxin can cause botulism, a serious and sometimes
life-threatening condition. The toxin cannot be removed by cooking or freezing.
The fish were imported into the USA and sent to these Florida distributors:
Quirch Foods Inc.
Den-Mar Exports LLC
Dolphin Fisheries Inc.
Labrador & Son Food Products Inc.
The fish were packed in 30-pound, white plastic pails with green
plastic lids. The brand name “Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries
Ltd.,” appears on the side of the pails, as does the phrase “Product
of Canada.” 173 30-lb. pails of fish were distributed. The fish may
have been repacked or sold loose by retailers in Florida.
The FDA considers any ungutted fish over 5 inches (13 cm) in length
that is salt-cured, dried, or smoked, such as the ungutted,
salt-cured alewives/gaspereaux fish, to be adulterated because it
could contain the _C. botulinum_ toxin. The Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services discovered the ungutted
alewives/gaspereaux fish from Michel & Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd.
being sold in stores and alerted the FDA. The FDA prohibits the sale
of this adulterated product in the USA.
To date, there have been no reported illnesses associated with this
product. However, consumers who have purchased ungutted, salt-cured
alewives/gaspereaux fish in Florida should contact the place of
purchase to determine if the fish they bought originated from Michel
& Charles LeBlanc Fisheries Ltd or if the source of the fish cannot
be determined, consumers should immediately discard the fish and any
foods made with these fish.
—
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Brent Barrett
[Because of the potential severity of botulism, ProMED-mail posts
such recalls even if, as in this case, there are no human cases
associated with the food. Most of the food recalls are related to
defective preparation procedures, which could, but not necessarily
do, result in the germination of viable spores of _C. botulinum_.
With fish like this, many recalls are related to the lack of evisceration.
The following is abstracted from the US Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) Regulations Section 540.650: Uneviscerated Fish Products that
are Salt-cured, Dried, or Smoked (CPG 7108.17)
http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg540-650.htm
Uneviscerated, salt-cured, whole fish products have caused several
outbreaks of botulism and death. _C. botulinum_ spores are ubiquitous
in fishery products and the marine environment. The spores represent
a public health hazard when conditions are suitable for vegetative
cell growth and toxin production.
A total of 3 outbreaks of botulism, causing 3 deaths and 11
illnesses, resulted from “kapchunka” in the USA between 1981 and
1987. Kapchunka, an ethnic food usually produced from whitefish, is
also known as “rybetz,” “ribeyza,” or “rostov.” Kapchunka is an
uneviscerated, salt-cured, air-dried, whole fish, which may or may
not be smoked. It is consumed without further preparation, such as cooking.
The fish are salt-cured under minimum refrigeration conditions for a
minimum of 25 days and then air dried at ambient temperature for 3 to
7 days. Kapchunka may be smoked before packing and are commonly
stored under refrigeration.
In 1991, 2 botulism outbreaks occurred. In one, “faseikh” was
implicated in at least 91 illnesses and 18 deaths in Egypt. Faseikh
is a traditional product made by fermenting uneviscerated fresh
mullet for up to one day and then salt-curing it in barrels, which
may be tightly sealed from one week to one year. In another, an
ethnic fish product called “moloha” caused a botulism outbreak
involving 4 family members in New Jersey. Moloha is an uneviscerated,
salt-cured fish product similar to “faseikh.” The preparation steps
in the New Jersey incident were not identified since the source of
the “moloha” could not be found.
Other salt-cured products, such as “bloaters,” can also pose a public
health hazard. Bloaters are prepared by salt-curing uneviscerated
whole herring, which may or may not be smoked. Bloaters may be
transformed into other products, such as fillets or bloater paste. In
addition to the products noted above, whole fish that are dried,
pickled, or fermented can also pose a public health hazard. The
referenced episodes of botulism are representative of a
well-documented history of life-threatening health hazards associated
with uneviscerated, salt-cured fish.
The problems with these products are compounded by the difficulty in
attaining sufficient levels of salt in all portions of an
uneviscerated fish to inhibit the growth of _C. botulinum_.
Consequently, any fish product that is salt-cured and then dried,
smoked, pickled, or fermented can pose a public health hazard. Toxin
may be present in these products even when there are no outward signs
of microbiological spoilage or other clear indications to alert the consumer.
Control of growth and toxin production from _C. botulinum_ in fishery
products is based on spore destruction (such as retorting canned
foods) or inhibition of vegetative cell growth (such as control of
water activity, pH, or use of approved chemical inhibitors). The
control measures must be applied rapidly and uniformly throughout the
product to protect consumers from this potentially life-threatening toxin.
Control of botulism can also be achieved in salted, dried, or smoked
products prepared from small species of uneviscerated fish (generally
3 to 5 inches in length (8-13 cm). Typically, these products are
prepared from small anchovy and herring sprats. As uneviscerated fish
under 5 inches in length are processed, their smaller size helps to
ensure complete permeation of the flesh with inhibitory levels of
salt or drying to a uniformly low water activity, resulting in the
attainment of conditions that prevent the growth of _C. botulinum_.
The FDA considers uneviscerated fish that are salt-cured, dried, or
smoked to represent a potentially life-threatening health hazard. In
addition, fillets, parts, or other products derived from
uneviscerated fish pose the same potential health hazard as the
original product. Therefore, with the exception of small,
uneviscerated fish as described above, the FDA considers
uneviscerated fish that have been salt-cured, dried, or smoked, as
well as products made from them, to be adulterated within the meaning
of section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, in
that the product has been prepared, packed, or held under unsanitary
conditions whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health.
These products are hazardous whether stored at ambient temperature,
refrigerated, or frozen, or whether packaged in air, vacuum, or
modified atmosphere.
The alewife (_Alosa pseudoharengus_) is a species of herring. There
are anadromous (live in the ocean and breed in fresh water) and
landlocked forms. The name is said to come from comparison with a
corpulent female tavern keeper (”ale-wife”). In Atlantic Canada, it
is known as the gaspereaux. - Mod.LL]