10:39AM EST October 2. 2012 - THE
HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Smoked salmon tainted with salmonella
bacteria has sickened hundreds of people in the Netherlands and the
U.S., sparking a major recall, health authorities said Tuesday.
The
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said the
salmon has been traced to Dutch company Foppen, which sells fish to many
major Dutch supermarkets and to stores around the world, including the
U.S.
The institute said in a statement that around 200 people --
and likely more -- in the Netherlands and more than 100 people in the
U.S. have been sickened.
Foppen also estimated the number of
infections was higher. Company spokesman Bart de Vries said that since
the company set up a public information phone line two days ago, some
1,400 people had called and around 350 of the callers "reported symptoms
consistent with a salmonella infection.
"Those infected by the salmonella bacteria can suffer symptoms including fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
De Vries said that in the U.S. the company sells only to wholesaler Costco and that Costco would deal with any U.S. recall.
It
was not immediately clear how much contaminated fish had been sold in
America. A message left at Costco's headquarters before office hours was
not immediately returned.
Roel Vincken of the Dutch Food and
Consumer Product Safety Authority, which carried out tests confirming
the salmonella outbreak, said he had no information on a U.S. recall.
De
Vries said the company did not believe contaminated fish had been sold
to any other countries. Foppen, which processes fish in the Netherlands
and at a factory in Greece, is investigating the cause of the outbreak.
"The
investigation into the cause is under way and has been narrowed down to
one production line at one factory (in Greece)," De Vries told The
Associated Press. "We can't yet say what the cause of the infection
was."
Foppen has halted all production of smoked salmon until the investigation is completed, he added.
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