Thousand pounds of the frozen ahi tuna were recalled in Hawaii after being discovered to be contaminated with Hepatitis A. The frozen cubed tuna contaminated were identified to be distributed by the company Tropic Fish Hawaii, LLC on Oahu in several destinations.
According to Unsafe Foods, Peter Oshiro, chief of the DOH Food Safety Program stated that the Tropic Fish Hawaii distributor had notified Hawaii’s Department of Health as soon as they had found out about the hepatitis A contamination. The recalled products contaminated with hepatitis A were reported to be distributed in GP Hawaiian Food Catering, the Crab Shack Kapolei, Aloha Sushi at 3131 N. Nimitz, and the ABC store at 205 Lewers St., Grill.
Several towns in Aiea, Kailua, Kaneohe, Kunia, Liliha, Mililani, Waipahu, and Waimanalo were mentioned as well. "Our normal procedure is to receive the test results prior to distribution, but unfortunately that did not happen with this particular shipment,” Shawn Tanoue, the company president announced after the hepatitis A issue was revealed. Tanoue also added that they have corrected their procedure already and ensures that the frozen ahi tuna contamination will not happen again.
"Because it generally takes two weeks for those infected to develop symptoms of hepatitis A, vaccination or immune globulin can still provide some protection against the disease for those who may have been exposed in the last week," Dr. Sarah Park of Hawaii’s health department stated. She also said that having a second shot is advised for long-term immunity.
Consumers who were able to have the tuna also used to make the Hawaiian popular dish called poke are advised to take countermeasures as well. Also, the people who took any frozen ahi tuna cube-related dish during the days between April 28 and May 1 were mentioned to monitor their health as Food Poison Journal reported.
Nonetheless, Hawaii’s health department cited that the most common symptoms of hepatitis A are fever, loss of appetite, dark urine, fatigue, or diarrhea. Upon experiencing these kinds of symptoms which usually appear 2–6 weeks after exposure, people are advised to stay home and contact their doctors immediately.
