The FDA has advised retailers and restaurants in Texas and Louisiana to stop selling or serving products from Topway Enterprises, doing business as Kazy’s Gourmet Seafood Production, because of possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The government is most concerned about salmon and tuna produced by the company for raw consumption. These products may be incorporated into sushi.
The products in questions were sold July 10 through July 13, 2019. They are sold as fillets wrapped in clear plastic wrap. These product do not have a long shelf life, although they may be frozen. These products should be discarded. Retailers and restaurants should also clean and sanitize the surfaces that these products were served, stored, or prepared on.
The FDA conducted an inspection of Topway Enterprises Inc./Kazy Gourmet Seafood Products in February 2019. Fifty-three environmental samples were collected during that inspection. Thirty-one samples teated positive for non-disease-causing Listeria species. The FDA issued Form 483, noting serious sanitation issues in the facility.
In June 2019, the Texas Department of State Health Services conducted a state contract inspection follow-up to see if the firm had implemented corrections. Four of the environmental samples taken during that inspection teated positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Inspectors observed continuing sanitation and seafood safety compliance issues. The company did not completely implement the corrective actions they agreed to in February 2019.
Then on July 3, 2019, the FDA and state partners notified the firm of the environmental sampling results. Topway agreed to voluntarily cease operations and recall products, and to provide the FDA with a corrective action plan. But, on July 10, 2019, Topway resumed production at its facility without implementing adequate corrective actions.
The FDA has not been able to confirm whether the firm’s customers were notified of the recall. So the government published this Safety Alert.
Any consumers who recently purchased raw ready-to-eat seafood products, especially raw tuna and salmon in Texas or Louisiana, should contact the retailer to see if these products were produced and sold by Topway/Kazy Gourmet. If they were, or you aren’t sure, discard them in a sealed container and clean your fridge with a mild bleach solution.
If you have eaten these products and have been ill with fever, stiff neck, headache, or diarrhea, see your doctor. Pregnant women may have no symptoms or may think they have a mild case of the flu, but this illness can cause miscarriage and stillbirth. The symptoms of listeriosis can take up to 70 days to appear.
