K A S H R U T . C O M_©

October 1, 2026 from the FDA

The FDA is warning consumers, retailers, wholesalers, restaurants, and food service customers not to eat, sell, or serve any cold smoked sprats sold by D&M Smoked Fish Inc. (DBA) Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. Cold smoked sprats were produced without implementing required controls for Clostridium botulinum and are a potential health risk to consumers.

Product: All lots of cold smoked sprats sold by D&M Smoked Fish doing-business-as (DBA) Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. Product is sold in bulk cardboard boxes and shipped refrigerated. It may be frozen up to one year. This product may have been sold at restaurants and grocery store seafood counters with or without a label. Consumers who are unsure whether they have purchased cold smoked sprats from Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. should throw them away or contact their place of purchase.

Stores affected: Cold smoked sprats were sold to retailers, restaurants, wholesalers, and food service customers in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Product may have been distributed further, reaching additional states.

Recommendation:

• Do not eat, sell, or serve any cold smoked sprats sold by Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. This product may have a long shelf life when frozen. If you can’t tell if your sprats are from Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc., do not eat them and throw them away.
• Consumers, retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice customers who purchased or received cold smoked sprats from Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. should carefully clean and sanitize any surfaces or containers that they touched. Follow FDA’s safe food handling and cleaning advice to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
• Consumers who have symptoms of botulism should immediately seek medical care. Botulism is a medical emergency.

Symptoms of botulism: Nausea, vomiting, fatigue or weakness, blurred or double vision, difficulty speaking or change in voice, difficulty swallowing, descending paralysis starting with the face, respiratory distress, dry mouth, and constipation. In severe cases, people will die without intensive care. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.