Below are FDA warnings regarding herring that may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism.
Double Smoked Herring
February 14, 2015 – Moscahlades Brothers of New Jersey issued a recall of Hellas Golden Double Smoked Herring because it was not eviscerated. You should not eat this product even if it looks and smells okay.
The product was sold under the Hellas brand name. It was processed by KARAGOUNIS BROS SA and imported by MOSCAHLADES BROS INC. The lot numbers are:
- L180314F33 with production date 18/3/14 and best-by date 18/3/15, shipped March 2014;
- L14104F33 with production date 14/10/2014 and best-by date 14/10/2015, shipped October 2014.
These products were sold in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey at the retail level.
Alert on Uneviscerated Fish
January 30, 2007 — Royal International Trading, Inc. is recalling uneviscerated “Russian Sea” Atlantic herring. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors found the fish had not been eviscerated before it was processed. Because of this, the product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which produce toxins. These toxins can cause botulism, a severe, potentially fatal, illness.
The sale of this type of fish is prohibited under New York State Agriculture and Markets regulations because Clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish.
The recalled “Russian Sea” Atlantic herring comes in 1300gr metal cans with the following code embossed on can: 01/10/06 413N74 IP and were sold in Brooklyn.