U.S – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Avanti Frozen Foods, a subsidiary of the Thai Union and a manufacturer and exporter of shrimp products to the United States, has issued another recall that will now apply to various sizes of frozen cooked, deveined, and peeled shrimp, some of which were packaged with cocktail sauce, distributed nationwide between November 2020 to May 2021.
The company had earlier in the year called for a recall after a positive sample collected by the FDA combined with epidemiological and trace-back evidence linked their frozen cooked shrimp products to a multistate Salmonella Weltevreden infection outbreak.
Since July 21, 2021, additional cases have been identified in this outbreak and leading to reopening of investigations. At least one ill person consumed shrimp that are not a part of the current recall.
Due to this new information, the FDA asked the firm to expand their initial recall to prevent additional illnesses.
A list containing the products believed to be affected by the salmonella contamination, including the expiration dates and codes can be found on the FDA website.
Some of the brands the contaminated products were sold under include Censea, CWNO, COS, Waterfront Bistro, Sea Cove, Food Lion, 365, Big River, Ahold, Nature’s Promise, Meijer, and more in a variety of unit sizes.
The recall covers several brands that have not been linked to any illnesses but are being recalled out of an abundance of precaution following a discussion between Avanti Frozen Foods, Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA.
The CDC declared the outbreak over on July 21 at six illnesses in Nevada and Arizona, two requiring hospitalization. Subsequently the FDA said, there were new illnesses reported, at least one of which involved shrimp not in the June recall. The outbreak numbers now sit at nine illnesses in four states — Nevada (four), Arizona (two), Michigan (two) and Rhode Island (two) — with three hospitalizations.
About Salmonella
Salmonella, is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
Most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps after six hours to six days, subsequent to swallowing the bacteria and can recover without treatment, in about four to seven days.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
Avanti Frozen Foods did not distribute but instead condemned the prior shipment found to be violative. Amidst the recalls, Avanti Frozen Foods has taken extensive measures to eliminate potential contaminations in the future.
Salmonella incidences
Lately there has been a gush in the incidences of food related salmonella outbreak with eggs and poultry being the major culprits.
By the CDC’s count, salmonella strikes 1.35 million Americans each year, hospitalizes about 26,500 and kills 420. Most at risk for the worst effects are senior citizens, children under 5 and those with damaged immune systems.
The maker of national chicken product brands of Milford Valley and Sandra’s All-Natural Chicken; Serenade Foods, has also recalled approximately 60,000 pounds of frozen raw breaded stuffed chicken that bear establishment number “P-2375” inside the USDA mark of inspection. This follows an investigation done by the USDA which implicated the products in a salmonella outbreak that has so far seen 28 people ill.
Food contaminated with Salmonella bacteria does not usually look, smell, or taste spoiled hence great care has to be taken to avoid exposure through proper handling, hygiene and cooking.