Wholesale distributor Krasnyi Oktyabr has recalled Starfish Seafood Trio packages in six states over possible listeria, and shoppers are being told to check refrigerators now.
New York state inspectors flagged a potential contamination risk in the cold-smoked fish mix, prompting a voluntary recall of 8-ounce vacuum-sealed packages sold across the East Coast and Southeast.
USA TODAY reported that the Food and Drug Administration posted the notice on Oct. 9, and that no illnesses have been reported so far. The product, Starfish Seafood Trio of cold-smoked salmon, halibut, and trout, came from Latvia and went to customers in New York, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The FDA notice did not name specific retailers. That leaves the burden on households that bought the packages and on stores that still hold inventory.
Packages under recall carry lot number D139149161-153 and an expiration date of Dec. 1, 2027. They are 8-ounce vacuum-sealed units of the Starfish Seafood Trio blend.
Krasnyi Oktyabr, the wholesale distributor, told customers who bought the product to stop selling and distributing it at once. The firm also directed those customers to find any remaining stock and to alert their own buyers about the recall.
Shoppers can return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. The company listed a contact line at 718-858-6720, open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness in vulnerable groups. The recall notice listed symptoms that include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Adults 65 and older sit at the highest stated risk. Pregnant women, newborns, and people with weakened immune systems also face elevated danger from the bacteria, which is why cold-smoked seafood recalls get treated as more than a routine stock pull.
Inspectors in New York caught the risk before a wave of reported sickness. That is the system working at the inspection stage. The next step is ordinary: clear labels, fast notices, and consumers who actually look at the lot code on the package in the fridge.
Imported fish moving through a wholesale channel into six states is a long chain. When state inspectors and the FDA put a possible health risk on the record, the public interest is simple, get the product off plates, not speeches about how safe the supply usually is.
USA TODAY said it contacted the distributor for more information. The published account centers on the voluntary recall steps already described: stop sales, notify downstream customers, and offer refunds.
Anyone who still has an 8-ounce Starfish Seafood Trio pack with lot D139149161-153 should not eat it. Return it. Call the number if a store pushes back. Listeria does not wait on a customer-service ticket.
Food safety is not a slogan. It is lot numbers, inspector flags, and people who check the package before dinner, especially when the product crossed an ocean to reach the shelf.