Costco's Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon Recalled Due To Listeria Bacteria
Affected Smoked Salmon May Come From Norway... But That's Not 100% Clear Apparently Processed in Brooklyn Costco website of smoked sal...
Affected Smoked Salmon May Come From Norway...
But That's Not 100% Clear Apparently Processed in Brooklyn
Costco website of smoked salmon as shown for sale on October 25th.This does not look like the official recall graphic, shown below. |
It appears that the salmon in question is not Alaskan, but may come from Norway. On October 25th, smoked salmon was apparently for sale on the Costco website. It showed a Norwegan map on the 12-ounce two-pack.The black packaging looks a lot like the packaging of the salmon that was contaminated.
However, the photographs used in various news stories across the country, telling of the listeria outbreak, do not show the Norwegian map on the affected smoked salmon package and feature a slightly different font and layout on the item that has been pulled.
The top graphic in this story shows salmon for sale on the Costco website on Friday, October 25th.
The lower graphic is from CNN's website at the same time. in a news story about the outbreak, showing the targeted smoked salmon.
The top graphic features a Norwegian map.
The bottom graphic, tied to stories on the listeria recall, does not. The pictures below show the packaging of the recalled salmon, which looks very similar, but different.
RECALLED SALMON LOOKS LIKE THIS:
Costco also sells Alaskan salmon – which is not part of the recall.
The listeria recall announcement said that the processor of the salmon was Acme Smoked Fish. According to Google Maps, Acme Smoked Fish is located in Brooklyn, New York and is a "fourth generation, family-owned smoked fish outlet since 1906 offering a Friday pick-up".
Acme Smoked Fish has its own website that shows the company packaging, its smoking process, its staff, dozens of fish products, warehouses and trucks. Acme sells 3 oz. packs of "Wild Alaskan SOCKEYE Smoked Salmon" under its own brand of "Acme". These packs do not look like the ones in the Costco recall, and have different words on the cover. They are not branded as "Kirkland" on the Acme website. They aren't listed for recall.
"Kirkland" is Costco's brand name, applied to everything from eyeglasses to jeans and toilet paper.
Acme also sells a series of other types of smoked salmon, including "Scandinavian-Style" and "Scottish-Style," neither of which, like the Alaskan smoked salmon, is mentioned in Costco's recall, and neither of which bears the Kirkland brand.
Costco says the affected Kirkland salmon pieces from Acme are in packages with lot number 8512801270, and were sold between October 9th and 13th. If you bought this salmon at that time, you can return it to Costco for a refund, the company says.
Apparently no illness has been reported yet due to this recalled product.
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Over the past months, as is often the case, there have been several high-profile instances of food-borne illness across America.
There were at least 10 reported deaths due to listeria from Boar's Head deli meats, and over 7 million pounds of the meat were recalled in the summer, according to various news stories nationwide. Boar's Head is commonly used in deli sandwiches at Fred Meyer.
Then, very recently, there was an outbreak of E. coli, tied to McDonald's Quarter Pounders in thirteen states. At least 75 people were struck by that outbreak as of October 25th. The affected states included Oklahoma, New Mexico, Nevada, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Michigan and Kansas.
Apparently, prepackaged sliced onions used at many McDonalds could be the culprit, reports now say.
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Listeria is a serious bacterial illness that can survive freezing. It can be very dangerous for people over 65 and women who are pregnant.
Listeria is caused by eating contaminated foods, and its symptoms are diarrhea, along with nausea, fever, chills and muscle aches. It's most commonly transmitted through contaminated raw vegetables, unpasteurized milk, processed meats and soft cheeses and contaminated meat. Listeria can be passed through the mother to unborn babies and can cause miscarriages, premature birth, fatal infections and stillbirths in the children.
E. coli, which is transmitted in the Quarter Pounders from McDonalds is also bacterial. It's caused by contaminated food or water. Small children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems are most affected. E.coli can lead to ongoing health problems, kidney failure, and death.
Neither of these two illnesses are limited to big-name national brands. They can be picked up at home. In Alaska, botulism due to improperly processed canned salmon has always been a concern. In the Copper Valley, there have been workshops showing how to process canned salmon properly.
Listeria bacteria was discovered in 1924 in England.
AT DEBARR COSTCO, OCTOBER 25TH..
THERE'S ONLY UNSULLIED ALASKAN SALMON