Seafood Recalls That Affected Millions

Protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and B, and low in fat—the health benefits of consuming seafood are plentiful. From shrimp to salmon to canned tuna, experts say routinely incorporating seafood into your diet is an excellent way to eat healthy, protect your heart against disease and up your brain function. In fact, health experts recommend most adults eat at least 8 ounces of seafood a week. According to the latest reports, seafood is the chosen dish on Americans' plates at least once a week on average, higher than previous years.

Despite the rising trend and numerous health benefits, the downside of loading your diet with fish, shellfish, mollusks, and crustaceans is that seafood is often the source of recalls in the United States. Over a 20 year period beginning in 2002, nearly 2,500 recalls by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) were for seafood products. Even more recently seafood recalls have dominated headlines. Canned tuna and Costco-sold salmon aren't alone; food recalls have actually been on the rise the last few years. Organizational changes at the FDA and tightening regulations after they had loosened during the COVID-19 pandemic has made the recall process more stringent, revealing and forcing a 20% increase in food-related recalls between 2020 and 2023. Let's take a look at some of the largest seafood recalls that date back to the 1980s.

Just about a month into 2025, cans of tuna manufactured by California-based Tri-Union Seafood were removed from shelves at popular grocery stores like Trader Joe's, Costco, and Walmart over fears of botulism. The impacted cans were sold under the labels of Genova, Van Camp's Seafood, Trader Joe's, and H-E-B, and were limited to certain UPC numbers, can codes, and best-by dates.

In this case, the recall was voluntary after a manufacturing defect was discovered where the pull tab lid on some of the canned tuna products didn't completely seal, leading it to leak or be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum (also known as botulin). While no reports of illnesses were reported when the recall was issued, botulism is a severe form of food poisoning which can be fatal.

Check your pantry for any canned tuna you may have stocked up on as the compromised cans under this recall have "Best Buy" dates through 2028. Even if a can looks intact, play it safe and throw it out or return it to where you bought it.

Oysters often make their way onto many menus around the holidays, but holiday party hosts likely refrained from serving up oysters in December of 2024 after an initial recall was issued by Washington-based Ruco's Shellfish due to a norovirus outbreak. The potentially contaminated seafood had been distributed to restaurants and food retailers across seven states. Just a few days later, the FDA issued a recall for oysters harvested in Canada by San Francisco-based S&M Shellfish Company under labels Fanny Bay, Buckley Bay and Royal Miyagi and distributed across 15 states, again due to potential norovirus contamination. Not long after that one, a recall was issued by Taylor Shellfish Canada that had distributed potentially contaminated oysters within Canada and California. Then in February, the FDA issued a recall for oysters that were harvested from Louisiana over — once again — possible norovirus contamination.

Norovirus, commonly associated with the "stomach bug" is highly contagious, and can occur when eating contaminated food. In fact, it's the most common cause of foodborne illness. While not an appetizing concept, the connection between norovirus and shellfish like oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels can happen when the water these shellfish are in is polluted by human sewage. As the shellfish filter seawater to gather nutrients, they can get norovirus particles if they are in contaminated waters. The risk of disease transmission is higher when consuming raw oysters or undercooked shellfish, but doesn't often deter us from enjoying them.

Lox lovers who stock up on Costco's frozen smoked salmon to pile onto their bagels or sushi were likely disappointed when a recall was issued — and then upgraded — for Kirkland Signature Smoked Salmon in 2024. The initial Costco recall was issued in October of that year by Brooklyn-based Acme Smoked Fish Corporation for 111 cases of the salmon for potential listeria contamination. The impacted 12-ounce twin vacuum packed packages were sold at select Costcos in Florida and the southeastern United States.

Three months later, in January 2025, the FDA reclassified the smoked salmon recall to a Class I, considered the highest risk. The FDA assigns a Class I recall "there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."

Listeria monocytogenes is a bacteria that causes listeriosis when food containing the bacteria is consumed. In healthy people, symptoms of listeria are typically fever, fatigue, and muscle aches, but can be more severe in pregnant women, older adults, and those with weakened immune systems. Because cold-smoked fish, like the salmon in this recall, doesn't undergo any full cooking, it is more susceptible to any bacteria or germs that may be in it.

More than 300,000 pounds of fish were recalled in October 2022 after a salmonella outbreak. Mariscos Bahia, Inc. voluntarily recalled salmon, halibut, seabass, tuna, and swordfish that were sold in California and Arizona. After reports of illnesses tied to the fresh fish, an FDA inspection of the California plant followed, and swabs from the facility detected traces of salmonella that matched the outbreak strain. The affected fish had only been distributed to restaurants in California and Arizona, sparing grocers and consumers.

The salmonella outbreak infected 39 people across four states, including 13 who had to be hospitalized. According to the CDC, salmonella is one of the leading causes of foodborne illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths in the U.S. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever, cramps, chills, headache and vomiting, and usually set in 12 to 72 hours after infection.

In October 2021, more than 100 cases of salmonella were connected with frozen fish that were voluntarily recalled by Northeast Seafood Products. The recall impacted haddock, monkfish, bone-in trout, grouper, red snapper, red rock cod, ocean perch, Pacific cod, halibut, coho salmon, Atlantic salmon portions, lane snapper, tilapia, all-natural salmon fillet, Pacific sole, and farm-raised striped bass sold at restaurants and Albertsons, Safeway, and Sprouts seafood counters in Colorado. When FDA inspectors detected positive samples linked to the salmonella strain, Northeast Seafood temporarily halted production at its Denver-based production facility.

While the majority of cases were in Colorado, the salmonella outbreak was tied to 115 illnesses and 20 hospitalizations across 15 states. Typically in outbreaks like this, the number of people who are sick is much higher, but the reported numbers only reflect those who sought medical care and were treated for salmonella.

Salmonella was also at the forefront of a recall in August 2020, this time connected to frozen cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp by Kader Exports, a manufacturing company based in India. The shrimp were distributed nationwide under brand names Kirkland Signature (Costco), Fresh Market, Wellesley Farms, Aqua Star Reserve, and Tops, prompting grocers to remove them from shelves.

The Class II recall of 406,000 pounds of shrimp was linked to potential cross-contamination with salmonella at the manufacturing facility. No illnesses or deaths were reported in that outbreak. This wasn't Kader's last time on the FDA's radar. In 2024, the company's shrimp was refused import entry due to "containing nitrofurans, veterinary drug residues and filth." Blocking entry of imports into the U.S. isn't unusual, and with 40% of American shrimp consumption coming from India, Kader isn't that country's only manufacturer that's been denied. So next time you stroll down the frozen section at Costco, you may want to steer clear of the frozen shrimp, among other seafoods.

Kroger and other grocery chains had to pull yellowfin tuna steaks from the freezers in 2019 when consumers reported experiencing symptoms of scombroid poisoning after eating the fish. Florida-based Mical Seafood Inc. initially issued the recall on the tuna it imported from Vietnam. Frozen wild-caught yellowfin tuna loins, tuna poke, tuna steaks, tuna ground meat, and tuna Saku were the impacted products, which had been shipped to wholesalers across 23 states.

But that was just the beginning of what became a much larger recall as FDA investigators sampled multiple products before tying back the source of the scombroid poisoning to Vietnam-based supplier Truong Phu Xanh Co. LTD. Initially the company declined to recall its tuna product. The FDA responded with a public warning to suppliers, distributors, and consumers and placed the company on import alert which restricted its product from entering the United States until it met U.S. food safety standards.

Nearly 50 illnesses of scombroid poisoning were associated with the yellowfin tuna. Scombroid poisoning occurs when fish isn't properly refrigerated at some point between when it's caught and when it's consumed. When this happens, bacteria forms on the surface of the fish and releases histamines. While in most cases spoiled fish can be detected by smell or taste, scombroid poisoning isn't detectable in the same way so many people consuming the bad fish don't know until they experience allergy-like symptoms like hives, mouth tingling, facial swelling, and nausea, which typically set in almost immediately after consuming the infected fish.

Yellowfin tuna with a different look and purpose was also recalled in 2012 after being linked to an outbreak of salmonella that infected more than 100 people across 20 states. The tuna in this recall was scrape, commonly known as nakaochi, which is often used in sushi or sashimi. California-based Moon Marine USA Corp. produced the scrape in India before shipping the nearly 59,000 pounds of frozen raw Nakaochi Scrape tuna to the U.S. where it was sold to grocers and restaurants. More than 100 people across 28 states and the District of Columbia reported salmonella symptoms after eating raw sushi, according to the FDA.

This particular recall created quite a public relations event for tuna scrape, but not necessarily in a positive way. Scrape gets its name from how the meat is removed, literally by scraping it from the fish bones after the filets have been removed. The scrape resembles ground tuna which made it a target of a comparison to the controversial "pink slime." Also known as lean, finely textured beef (LFTB), pink slime is often used as filler in fast-food burgers, and it made headlines the same year as the recall, earning it the nickname of pink slime of sushi.

Small tears in 7-ounce cans of salmon caused one of the largest seafood recalls in history. At the Whitney-Fidalgo plant in Alaska, cans produced in 1980 and 1981 were potentially compromised in the production line, making them susceptible to spoilage. The recall followed the death of a Belgian man who had eaten the U.S canned salmon contaminated with botulinum. Eventually, the FDA traced the cause to small holes in the can which led to an inspection of the plant and other Alaskan canneries, and the subsequent recall of 60 million cans by multiple Alaskan producers. The impact abroad was much more significant as several countries refused to receive shipments of American canned salmon, virtually crippling the industry .

Trailing behind the canned mushroom recall of the 1970s, the recall was one of the most widespread and significant in history, and may have depleted sales of Alaskan canned salmon temporarily. But the product rebounded in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic because it is deemed to be healthy and shelf stable, and has remained a popular diet staple.

Most canned tuna shoppers are familiar with the Bumble Bee brand, which is the brand behind Costco's wildly popular Kirkland Signature Albacore Tuna cans. But those who were buying tuna in the 1980s might also remember them for their recall notoriety. It all started when a consumer contacted the FDA saying he hadn't gotten sick from eating his Bumble Bee tuna, but he had discovered a small hole in the can. The story goes that he while he avoided illness, the tuna he bought was spoiled and the can was punctured. That led FDA inspectors to the Bumble Bee plant in Hawaii and found one other compromised can but no signs of toxins in either damaged can and no evidence of widespread machine malfunctions.

Once the inspectors returned from Honolulu and reported no evidence of a widespread manufacturing crisis, they assumed it was a fluke until other consumers in multiple states contacted the FDA about holes in their tuna cans. The FDA and executives at Bumble Bee then realized they had a larger problem, and issued a recall for all cans produced at the Honolulu plant between 1981 and 1982 which wound up being 40 million cans. Because there were no reported illnesses or deaths tied to consumers of the Bumble Bee tuna, it was a Class II recall, and took a chunk out of the canned tuna business.