Vita Food Smoked Salmon Recall Due to Listeriosis Risk

Vita Food Products, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois has recalled 8,088 individual retail packages of 4 oz. Vita Classic Premium Sliced Smoked Atlantic Nova Salmon due to the potential for contamination with Listeria monocytogenes, bacteria that can cause listeriosis, a life-threatening infection in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeriosis can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women. To date, no confirmed illnesses or complaints have been reported.

7,260 of the individual retail packages were sold at the following grocery stores:

Publix stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama

Safeway stores in California, Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and District of Columbia,

Meijer stores in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky

Vons stores in California

Genuardi’s stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Winn Dixie stores in Florida

Edgewater Produce store in Chicago, IL

The recalled smoked salmon was sold on or after July 25 of this year and may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. In addition, 828 individual retail packages of this same product have either possibly been sold or are being offered for sale at various grocery stores in the Buffalo, NY and Pittsburgh, PA metropolitan areas and Northeast Ohio.

The recalled smoked salmon are packages (black in color) that bear the Vita logo centered at the bottom of the package that is immediately visible to the consumer. Each package contains 4-5 slices (total 4 oz.) of smoked salmon; the slices are contained in a vacuum sealed package that is 7¾“ wide by 7¼” in height by ¼” in thickness. The SELL BY Date and Code of DEC 15 2011 01961B is centered in the window on the front of each package. This announcement and recall only applies to packages that bear that SELL BY Date and Code.

If you or a family member has been diagnosed with listeriosis after eating Vita Classic Premium Sliced Smoked Atlantic Nova Salmon, contact our food poisoning attorneys. The incubation period for Listeria is from 3 to 70 days. That is not a typo. It can take over 2 months for Listeria to colonize in the body and cause listeriosis.

The following are instructions for recalled product that has not caused illness:

If any consumer purchased a product with that SELL BY Date and Code from a retail store on or after July 25, 2011, he or she should not consume any of the Vita Classic Premium Sliced Smoked Atlantic Nova Salmon product. Then, the Company asks that it be sealed in plastic bag or placed in some similar container and returned to the retailer from which it was purchased. The Company is asking that any person who has purchased the product with this SELL BY Date and Code call this telephone number 1-800-989-8482 during the hours of 8am to 5pm (Central Time Zone) Monday through Friday. If you are experiencing any unusual or severe symptoms such as those described above, go to an emergency room immediately or contact your physician for immediate advice.

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