California-based company Fuji Food Products has voluntarily recalled several of their ready-to-eat sushi, spring roll, and salad sold at several supermarket chains in the United States for fear of listeria contamination.
The announcement for the voluntary recall was made by the Food and Drug Administration late last month.
“As responsible processors of safe, fresh food for nearly 30 years, we are addressing this problem vigorously and we apologize to those who are affected by it,” Fuji Food Products CEO Farrell Hirsch said in a statement to the FDA. “We will restart operation only after we have eliminated the cause and the FDA certifies that our facility is once again free of possible contamination.”
The possible contamination was discovered during a routine inspection conducted by the FDA at the company’s Brockton Massachusetts facility. After the discovery, Fuji Food Products immediately ceased their operation and distribution while the FDA continues on with their investigation.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, but mostly in young children, frail or elderly people, and those who have weakened immune system, according to the FDA.
Meanwhile, healthy individuals may suffer short-term symptoms when infected, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Pregnant women infected by listeria may also suffer miscarriage.
The complete list of affected products as well as their sell-by dates are as follows:
These affected products are being sold at: 7 Eleven, Walgreens, Food Lion, Hannaford, Trader Joe’s, Giant Eagle Supermarkets, Porkys, Bozzutos, Supreme Lobster and Superior Foods in several states.
The states FDA mentioned in its report are: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
