Smoked Salmon Recall Widens Starfish Seafood Listeria Concerns

A second recall in a week from the same distributor

A Brooklyn wholesale distributor has recalled frozen, sliced cold-smoked salmon sold in six states because it may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. This is the company's second Listeria-related seafood recall in about a week. The product is Starfish Seafood Premium Cold Smoked Norwegian Salmon Sliced, distributed by Krasnyi Oktyabr Inc. It went to New York, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and the FDA published the notice on October 16.12 The FDA's recall database shows the salmon notice directly above an October 9 entry from the same company and brand, which covered Starfish Seafood's cold-smoked salmon, halibut and trout.13

No illnesses have been linked to either product so far.111 Each recall on its own looks routine. Together, they suggest a quality problem tied to one importer's supply chain rather than a single bad package. That is the main story here.

What is being recalled and how to identify it

The salmon comes in 8-ounce (227-gram) vacuum-sealed plastic packages and is meant to be kept frozen.1 The identifiers are UPC 4751048940099, lot code D080-148, and a best-before date printed European-style as 27.11.2027, which means November 27, 2027.2 Several outlets also report the lot number, and the coverage agrees that the fish was produced in Latvia. Krasnyi Oktyabr says it distributed the product but did not make it.32

The date format matters. Shoppers used to the U.S. month-first style could misread "27.11.2027" or skip over it. The UPC and lot code are the safer things to check.

The earlier trio product came in the same 8-ounce vacuum-sealed format. It carries lot number D139149161-153 and an expiration date of December 1, 2027, and it is also listed as a product of Latvia.16 Its distribution overlapped with the salmon only partly. The trio went to New York, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and South Carolina.14 Taken together, the two recalls reach nine states. New York, Florida and Georgia received both products.

Anyone holding either product should not eat it and can return it to the store for a full refund.116 Krasnyi Oktyabr is taking questions at (718) 858-6720, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern.2 The company has also asked its retail and wholesale customers to stop selling the salmon, count their remaining stock and pass the warning along.1

Freezing doesn't make it safe

The detail most likely to trip up consumers is that this salmon was sold frozen. Many people assume freezing kills germs. Listeria survives freezing, and unlike most foodborne pathogens it can keep growing at refrigerator temperatures.214 A package that has been in the freezer for weeks is still a risk, and so is one moved to the fridge to thaw before a weekend brunch.

Cold-smoked fish is especially exposed. It is a ready-to-eat product that is usually eaten without cooking, so there is no kill step at home. Listeria can be found in soil, water, sewage, decaying plants and animals.14 One outlet notes that the source of contamination in this case is unknown.3 Contaminated food may look, smell and taste normal. Symptoms can take up to 70 days to appear, so anyone who already ate the product should watch for illness well beyond the usual few days.11

Who faces the greatest risk

Healthy adults who get infected often have short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.1 The danger is much greater for young children, frail or elderly people, and anyone with a weakened immune system. In pregnancy, infection can cause miscarriage or stillbirth.1 Coverage of the trio recall added premature delivery and life-threatening infections in newborns to the list. It named transplant recipients and people with cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS or autoimmune disease among those at higher risk.16

This is where the recall matters for infant and family safety. Smoked salmon isn't a baby product, but Listeria is a serious hazard for newborns, and much of the harm comes through pregnant people. Health officials generally advise pregnant people to avoid refrigerated smoked seafood unless it is cooked into a dish.2 With holiday hosting approaching, that advice deserves more attention than it usually gets.

On the national picture, one outlet puts U.S. Listeria infections at about 1,250 a year and deaths at about 250. Most deaths happen when the infection spreads beyond the gut to the central nervous system.3 Those figures are that outlet's own summary and do not come from the recall notices. Still, they show why regulators act on possible contamination before anyone gets sick.

State inspectors are catching these problems

The coverage agrees on how the problem was found. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets identified the possible contamination, and Krasnyi Oktyabr then started a voluntary recall in cooperation with that agency and the FDA.13 One account says the salmon was flagged through routine sampling.2 The trio recall followed the same route: state inspectors found the risk and the distributor acted.1611

This looks like a pattern. In September 2025, Haifa Smoked Fish recalled cold-smoked salmon and sea bass sold nationwide after a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets inspector took samples and the state food lab detected Listeria.17 That product also came in 8-ounce vacuum packs, and the company's listed phone number is a New York City area code.17 My reading is that New York's retail sampling program is acting as an early warning system for imported smoked fish moving through the New York area's wholesale networks. The finding is often caught before illnesses are reported, then turned into an FDA-posted recall. The weak point is the distribution step. A wholesaler that didn't produce the fish is left recalling product whose processing conditions it can't directly see.

The same week brought a parallel case in Europe. Ireland's Food Safety Authority recalled several SuperValu and Centra smoked salmon products after detecting Listeria monocytogenes, following an earlier SuperValu smoked salmon recall days before.10 The two cases are not known to be linked. They are a reminder that cold-smoked salmon is a recurring Listeria risk across the industry, not a problem limited to one importer.

Where the coverage differs

The reporting agrees on the core facts but differs on some details. One outlet described the earlier trio recall as issued "on Monday." The FDA database and other outlets date the trio notice to October 9, and the first trade coverage ran October 10.3131411 The October 9 date is better supported.

The same outlet also called the salmon "its" product, which suggests Krasnyi Oktyabr made it. Every account, including that one further down, says the company is only a distributor and did not manufacture the fish.3 Advice on where to look also varies. Coverage of the trio told readers to check their refrigerators, while coverage of the salmon stresses the freezer.162 Both are right for their products. Households that bought Starfish Seafood items should check both.

So far, coverage hasn't settled whether the two recalls share a single Latvian producer, or whether the FDA will give either one a formal risk classification. The FDA's listings don't yet show either recall as terminated.13

A busy recall season

The salmon recall is part of a crowded run of consumer warnings. In recent weeks there have been recalls of Amazon-branded acetaminophen, magnetic toy sets after two children were hospitalized, more than 40,000 lawn mowers over fire risk, and frozen berries over possible E. coli contamination.1 Food, drug, children's product and equipment recalls are handled by different agencies with different processes. From the consumer's side they all ask for the same thing: check the lot code, the date and the product name before assuming a purchase is safe.

The practical takeaway is simple. If you have an 8-ounce Starfish Seafood smoked fish package in your freezer or fridge, check it against the lot codes above. If it matches, return it for a refund rather than eating it, and keep the 70-day symptom window in mind if you already have. The bigger concern is that two recalls in one week from one distributor point to a supply problem, and further notices are possible if the source isn't found.