By Atuna.com
Imports of frozen or raw fish products into the EU – including tuna – may be facing more scrutiny upon entry by EU health officials, now that the recent outbreak of salmonella cases has escalated and claimed the life of at least one Dutch victim.
On Saturday, the Dutch health agency reported more than 500 people in the Netherlands have been poisoned by Salmonella linked to smoked salmon, and two elderly are dead after eating the contaminated fish.
According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of the Netherlands, one has been confirmed to be a result of the Salmonella infection and the other is still under investigation.
The problematic smoked salmon was produced by the Dutch company Foppen, with the raw material imported from Norway and processed in a facility in Greece. The company sells to major supermarkets in the Netherlands and to stores around the world, including the U.S. retailer Costco Wholesale. It issued a recall on Oct. 1 for its tainted product.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had 85 recorded cases with the same strain of bacteria – called Salmonella Thompson – from 27 states starting July 1. Typically, without an outbreak, the average number of cases over that time is about 30. The federal agency is currently investigating a possible link between the cases in the U.S. and the cases in the Netherlands.
Earlier this past spring, U.S. authorities were busy monitoring a similar outbreak tied to raw yellowfin tuna. At least 425 people fell ill from eating the tuna, served in sushi, which contained the Salmonella bacteria. The contaminated tuna was traced back to the Indian supplier, Moon Fishery India. The California-based processing company, Moon Marine USA Corp., recalled almost 60,000 pounds of frozen raw yellowfin tuna, packaged as “Nakaochi Scrape,†as a result.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has since intensified its inspections of frozen raw yellowfin tuna imports, which suggests the EU health authorities could take a similar, extra vigilant approach to raw salmon and tuna products entering the market.
A spokesperson for the European Commission’s Health and Consumer Policy was not able to respond in time for publication.