Food-Safety Alert: Smoked Salmon Linked to Salmonella Outbreak

THE HAGUE, NetherlandsMore than 200 people in the Netherlands and 100 people in the United States have been sickened with Salmonella Thompson after eating tainted smoked salmon sold by the Dutch company Foppen. The fish was sold in Dutch stores, as well at the U.S.-based Costco under the Kirkland brand.

According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, the source of the outbreak was traced to salmon distributed by the Dutch company Foppen, which issued a recall after the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority confirmed the Salmonella outbreak.

The Associated Press is reporting that Craig Wilson, vice president of food safety at Costco Wholesale Corp., said his company was informed of the recall on Oct. 1 and immediately pulled all items from shelves and blocked its sale in stores.

Foppen, which processes fish in the Netherlands and at a factory in Greece, is investigating the cause of the outbreak. The company has suspended production of smoked salmon until the investigation is complete.