A Houston company initiated a recall of more than 100,000 pounds of catfish because they were not inspected, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).
Fulton Seafood Inc. “produced” the wild caught catfish between Jan. 1 and Feb. 21, inclusive, the FSIS reported. Federal officials are concerned that people may have the recalled catfish in their homes and not realize it.
“Upon arrival at retail locations, the catfish were removed from boxes and placed in the seafood display case for consumer purchase,” according to the recall notice. “These items were shipped to retail locations within Texas.”
Consumers who have recently purchased catfish from seafood display cases in retail stores in Texas are urged to contact the stores to determine whether the fish is subject to this recall. If consumers cannot find out if the catfish they bought is under recall, they should return it to the place of purchase or throw it away.
“The problem was discovered on Feb. 19, 2019, when an FSIS investigator observed Siluriformes (catfish) products bearing no marks of federal inspection, while performing surveillance activities in a cold storage facility.”
Retailers and others can identify the recalled catfish by looking for brown cardboard boxes in 60-pound weights that have stickers that say “River Catfish Wild USA.”
As of the posting of the recall notice, there had not been any confirmed reports of adverse reactions or illnesses in relation to consumption of the implicated fish.
When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.
Consumers with questions about the recall can contact Joe Massa, sales manager for Fulton Seafood Inc., at 713-228-6931.
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