A New York importer is recalling an undetermined amount of frozen catfish that is incorrectly labeled as tilapia. Some of the fish has sell by dates as far away as January 2021.
Inspectors from the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service discovered the problem during routine surveillance activities, according to the recall notice posted by the federal agency. The fish, imported from Hong Kong, was not presented for FSIS import re-inspection.
You Chang Trading Inc. reported shipping the frozen fish to distributor and retail locations in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The recall notice did not indicate whether the distributor customers forwarded the product to other states.
The frozen, raw catfish filets that are incorrectly labeled as tilapia were produced between Nov. 13, 2018, and Jan. 5 this year.
Because of their years’ long shelf life, federal officials are concerned that the recalled fish could be in home and business freezers. To identify the recalled frozen fish filets consumers, retailers and foodservice operators should look for the following label information on the 22-pound white cardboard boxes:
- “CONWAY TILAPIA FILLETS PRODUCT OF HONGKONG” with lot codes 20181113, 20181203, or 20190105 and sell by dates of 11/16/2020, 12/03/2020, or 01/05/2021.
There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.
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 Yang Zhou Lu, president of You Chang Trading Inc., at 718-633-7816.
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