Sunday, February 10, 2008

Why I Don't Eat Sushi - Or Sashimi

Choyce Products of Honolulu, HI is recalling almost 5,500 pounds of yellowfish tuna ("ahi"), according to a notice released yesterday by the FDA. This recall is the result of an investigation led by Hawaii's state epidemiologist, Dr. Paul Effler, who linked the a recent outbreak of Salmonella Paratyphi B to the consumption of raw ahi.

The Choyce tuna that has been recalled has not been confirmed as the source of the outbreak, but was found to be contaminated with Salmonella Paratyphi B when it was sampled as part of the outbreak investigation.

To date, 33 people have been confirmed to have suffered from food poisoning due to infection with the outbreak strain since October.

Strangely, the Hawaii Department of Health web site has been completely silent on this outbreak investigation. Until yesterday, when FDA issued its own press release, the only sources of information for consumers have been newspaper articles and bloggers.

2 comments:

  1. This post is inaccurate. The Salmonella found at Choyce has NOT been confirmed as Salmonella Paratyphi B. The FDA has NOT determined what strain.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I apologize and stand corrected. I misspoke. I meant to say that the Choyce tuna was found to be contaminated with Salmonella.

    Thank you, Anonymous, for keeping me on my toes.

    ReplyDelete

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