Food tasting, tasting life: FDA finds Listeria at Royal Seafood Baza Inc.; herring recalled

Royal Seafood Baza Inc. has stopped production and is recalling an undisclosed volume of 22 different herring products with shelf lives through February 2017 because federal inspectors found Listeria in the company’s plant.

To see all of the photos of recalled products provided by Royal Seafood Baza Inc., click on the image.

To see all of the photos of recalled products provided by Royal Seafood Baza Inc., click on this image or the photos below.

The refrigerated, ready-to-eat herring products are packaged for retail sale to consumers and in bulk for wholesalers, according to the Staten Island, NY, company’s recall notice on the Food and Drug Administration website.

The company has been on FDA’s enforcement radar for more than a year, according to a warning letter issued in October 2015. As of Friday, when the recall was posted, the agency had not posted a closeout letter regarding the warning about problems documented in March 2015.

“The recall of the products was the result of environmental sampling by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during an inspection of the firm which revealed the presence of Listeria in the plant,” according to the recall notice, which did not indicate the date of the inspection or testing.

“The company has ceased production and distribution of the products and is working closely with FDA to monitor this situation to determine the source of the environmental contamination, and make the appropriate corrective actions.”

Royal Seafood Baza Inc.distributed the recalled herring in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Oregon, Texas and North Carolina, according to the recall notice. The notice did not reveal what specific wholesalers and retailers received the potentially contaminated herring or whether it may have been distributed to other states by Royal Seafood Baza customers.

As of the posting of the recall no illnesses had been reported in connection with the products. However, it can take up to 70 days for infection symptoms to develop after injection of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

The pathogen can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

“Wholesale customers of bulk containers must discontinue sales of existing stock of these items immediately and destroy any returned product as soon as possible,” according to the recall notice.

The bulk products have pack dates of “11/2/16” – “11/30/16” while the products packaged in retail containers have “Best Before dates of: 11.30.2016 through 02.28.2017.” Recalled products in vacuum packaged bags include “Pack Dates of 11.09.16 – 11.30.16.”

“Herring products packaged in retail package have a 90-day shelf life, herring products in bulk buckets have a 28-day shelf life and herring products in vacuum packages have a 21-day shelf life,” according to the recall notice.

“Consumers who purchased any of the above listed products and still have them on-hand are urged not to consume them and to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or to discard them. Consumers with questions can contact Royal Seafood Baza consumer relations at 718-318-1888.”

The recall is specific to the following products:

Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine with no brand name, packaged in bulk 25 lb. white plastic bucket and labeled in part “** 204250 ** HERRING ISLANDSKAYA JUMBO BY PC **” (label on the metal handle of bucket);
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine with no brand name, packaged in bulk 25 lb. white plastic bucket and labeled in part “** 204311 ** HERRING SUPER DUNAYSKAYA BY PC **” (label on the metal handle of bucket);
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine with no brand name, packaged in bulk 25 lb. white plastic bucket and labeled in part “** 204857 ** HERRING NORWAY SUPER JUMBO BY PC **” (label on the metal handle of bucket);
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine with no brand name, packaged in bulk 25 lb. white plastic bucket and labeled in part “ ** 204744 ** HERRING MALOSOLNAYA (20 in barrel) **” (label on the metal handle of bucket);
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine with no brand name, packaged in bulk 25 lb. white plastic bucket and labeled in part “** 204883 ** HERRING DUNAYSKAYA BY PC **” (label on the metal handle of bucket);
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under ROYAL Baza label, vacuum packaged in a clear bag and labeled in part “** ROYAL baza ** HERRING SUPER DUNAYSKAYA IN VACUUM BY PC * UPC 204450 000263”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under the ROYAL Baza label, vacuum packaged in a clear bag and labeled in part “** ROYAL baza ** HERRING MALOSOLNAYA IN VACUUM BY PC ** UPC 204874 000269”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 10.9 oz. (310g) plastic retail container labeled in part ** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet in Oil “Forelka Style” ** Net Wt. 10.9 oz. (310g)** UPC 825512 004915”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 16.2 oz. (460g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet in Oil “Forelka Style” ** Net Wt. 16.2 oz. (460g)** UPC 825512 004922”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 10.9 oz. (310g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Pacific Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 10.9 oz. (310g) ** UPC 825512 004939;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 16.2 oz. (460g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Pacific Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 16.2 oz. (460g)** UPC 825512 004946”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 10.9 oz. (310g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet “Matjes” ** Net Wt. 10.9 oz. (310g) ** UPC 825512 004953”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 16.2 oz. (460g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet “Matjes” ** Net Wt. 16.2 oz. (460g) ** UPC 825512 004960”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 10.9 oz. (310g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 10.9 oz. (310g)** UPC 825512 004977”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 16.2 oz. (460g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 16.2 oz. (460g)** UPC 825512 004984”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 24 oz. (680g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Holland Herring in Oil ** Net Wt. 24 oz. (680g)** UPC 825512 008128”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 46 oz. (1275g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring in Spicy Brine ** Net Wt. 46 oz. (1275g)** UPC 825512 008166”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Brine sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 46 oz. (1275g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring in Brine ** Net Wt. 46 oz. (1275g) ** ** UPC 825512 008173”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 16 oz. (454g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Herring Fillets in Oil ** Lightly Salted ** Net Wt. 16 oz. (454g) ** UPC 825512 014044”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 28.2 oz. (800g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** SUPER DUNAYSKAYA ** Herring Fillets in Oil ** Net Weight 28.2 OZ./800 g”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD label, packaged in a 9.3 oz. (265g) plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Pacific Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 9.3 oz. (265g) ** UPC 825512 110258”;
Refrigerated, Ready to Eat Herring in Oil sold under the FRESH SEAFOOD packaged in a 16.2 oz. (460g) in plastic retail container labeled in part “** FRESH SEAFOOD ** Pacific Herring Fillet in Oil ** Net Wt. 16.2 oz. (460g) ** UPC 825512 110265”.