More Grained Salmon Caviar in 95-gram cans and made from sockeye salmon is being recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death.

The Aug. 16 recall by AWERS Inc. of Bellevue, WA, said the Grained Salmon Caviar 95g was distributed in California, New York, Oregon, Washington, and product may have further distributed to other states and Canada. According to the Aug. 20 recall notice on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website, the affected product was distributed in California, New York, Oregon, Washington, Canada and has been further distributed in Illinois and may have further distributed to other states.

As noted in the most recent CFIA report and according to the most current recall notice posted by the FDA, the product was reviewed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and sent to a lab for testing.

“We expand our voluntary recall based on additional testing results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).” Product with the five ‘BEST BEFORE’ dates listed below was tested and the results revealed a lower than normal salt content which can foster an anaerobic environment that is necessary to grow the Clostridium botulinum bacteria. According to the recall notice, no Clostridium botulinum bacteria were detected in product to date; “Although no Clostridium botulinum bacteria was detected in the product, consumers are warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled,” the FDA said.

No illnesses have been reported to date as of the posting of the Aug. 21 recall notice.

According to the recall notice, the recalled product is packed in a metal tin with Cyrillic lettering. The tin is green, with red and white writing with an easy-open pull lid. Product with the following dates printed on the bottom on the tin are subject to recall:

• “BEST BEFORE JUL 03 2020”;
• “BEST BEFORE JUL 15 2020”;
• “BEST BEFORE SEP 17 2020”;
• “BEST BEFORE OCT 07 2020”; and
• “BEST BEFORE OCT 13 2020”.

“This recall is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

Food contaminated with Clostridium botulinum toxin may not look or smell spoiled but can still make you sick. Symptoms in adults can include paralysis of breathing muscles, facial paralysis or loss of facial expression, unreactive or fixed pupils, difficulty swallowing, drooping eyelids, blurred or double vision, difficulty speaking or including slurred speech, and a change in the sound of a voice, including hoarseness.

Additionally, symptoms of foodborne botulism in children can include difficulty swallowing, slurred speech, generalized weakness, and paralysis. In all cases, botulism does not cause a fever.

In foodborne botulism, symptoms generally begin 18 to 36 hours after eating contaminated food, but they can occur as soon as six hours or as long as 10 days after exposure.

Anyone who has eaten any of the recalled Grained Salmon Caviar product and developed symptoms of botulism poisoning should immediately seek medical attention and inform their doctors about the possible exposure.

According to the recall notice, consumers must inform AWERS, Inc. if they possess any Grained Salmon Caviar 95g tins with the above “Best Before” dates. Additionally, customers must ship the remaining affected product back to the firm or destroy it with permission from AWERS, Inc. for a full refund.

Consumers can contact AWERS, Inc. at 425-747-7866.