If you bought smoked salmon at West Vancouvers Whole Foods in the past 10 days, you should have a close look at the label before eating it.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers on the weekend that a batch of cold smoked sockeye trim has been recalled from the Park Royal supermarket and three other Lower Mainland stores due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The potentially deadly bacteria had been detected in salmon packaged locally between Feb. 17 and Feb. 22, according to the agency.
Whole Foods sells the product under the name Salmon Lox Trim Classic at both its Vancouver and West Vancouver outlets, the Salmon Shop on Vancouvers Johnston Street labels it Lox Trim and the Daily Catch Seafood Company on Commercial Drive sells it unlabelled.
Any shoppers who think they may have bought some of the affected fish before the recall took effect should check with the retailer before eating it, according to the agency. The stores have since pulled the product from their shelves.
Listeriosis can cause high fever, headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Pregnant women, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are especially susceptible, said the agency.
So far, no illnesses have been reported.
In 2008, 23 people died as a result of listeria contamination in a range of Maple Leaf Foods meat products that were packaged at a plant in Toronto.
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