Nationwide shrimp recall expanded amid more salmonella illnesses

More than two dozen shrimp products sold nationwide by retailers including Target and Whole Foods are now being recalled in a salmonella outbreak that has stricken nine people in four states, hospitalizing three, federal authorities say.

Avanti Frozen Foods Private Limited India agreed to recall additional packages, sizes and brands of frozen cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp, some sold with cocktail sauce, according to a notice posted Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. Three separate recalls related to the potentially tainted crustacean were then announced by the FDA on Saturday.

The recalled food was distributed nationwide from November 2020 to May 2021, but may have been sold in stores more recently, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The recalled shrimp was sold coast-to-coast under multiple labels, such as Whole Food’s 365 brand and Hannaford’s Nature’s Promise. Potentially tainted shrimp includes tempura rolls sold at Target stores in California and rings of frozen shrimp distributed by Chicken of the Sea and sold at Meijer, along with bags of Meijer-branded bags of frozen shrimp.

Since declaring that an outbreak tied to frozen shrimp was over in late July, three new illnesses have been identified by the CDC, the agency stated on Monday. The newly stricken brings to nine illnesses overall in four states — Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Rhode Island, with three serious enough to require hospitalization, the CDC said.

The expanded recall covers “a large amount of product that has not been associated with any illness but [has] been undertaken following discussions with FDA and CDC,” Avanti said in its announcement. Based in Visakhapatnam, India, Avanti is partially owned by Bangkok-based Thai Union Group, a global seafood company.

Salmonella sickens nearly 1.4 million Americans each year, with about 26,500 hospitalized and 420 dying annually, according to the CDC. The elderly and those under age 5 are most at risk, with the majority of stricken with symptoms including fever and stomach aches.

The CDC reopened its investigation and the FDA requested Avanti expand its prior recall in June.

Consumers should check their freezers for the shrimp, and throw away or return any of the recalled products, which can be found here.