Canadian officials are urging consumers to watch for signs of botulism poisoning if they have eaten certain Four Seasons Marketplace brand smoked salmon products.
Inspection activities prompted a recall of the company’s apple cider smoked salmon and vodka smoked salmon, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The products may permit the growth of Clostridium botulinum.
“If you think you became sick from consuming one of these products, call your doctor. Check to see if you have the products in your home. If the products are in your home, do not consume them,” the CFIA recall notice warns.
“Food contaminated with Clostridium botulinum toxin may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick.”
Consumers can identify the recalled products by looking for the following label information:
Four Seasons Marketplace Apple Cider Smoked Salmon in various sized packages with best-before dates of “2018MA23” or “2018MA29″ and a UPC number beginning with 0204051; and
- Four Seasons Marketplace, Vodka Smoked Salmon in various sized packages with a best-before date of “2018MA23” and a UPC number that begins with 0204028.
Botulism poisoning can paralyze muscles, including those used to breath, so if anyone who has eaten the recalled fish begins to have trouble breathing they should immediately seek medical attention.
Other symptoms in adults can include facial paralysis or loss of facial expression, unreactive or fixed pupils, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, blurred or double vision, difficulty speaking including slurred speech, and a change in sound of voice, including hoarseness.
Symptoms of foodborne botulism in children can include difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, generalized weakness and paralysis.
In all cases, botulism does not cause a fever. In severe cases of illness, people may die. As of the posting of the recall notice, no illnesses had been confirmed in relation to the smoked salmon.
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