WASHINGTON (AP) _ Federal health authorities are ordering a
Texas company to recall its dried smoked catfish steaks and other
smoked seafood.

The Food and Drug Administration is also directing Hope Food Supply to shut down its operations. The FDA says the Houston-area company failed to develop safety standards, leading to a risk of bacteria contamination in its products. But a spokesman for the agency says there have been no reported illnesses.

Hope Food Supply declined to comment when reached by telephone. The company's products are distributed nationwide.

Consumers can call the FDA for more information (888-723-3366)
or visit its Web site www.fda.gov to report adverse reactions or other problems.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

News release from the FDA:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday directed Hope Food Supply Inc., a Pasadena, Texas, food processing company, to shut down and immediately recall all products manufactured from its Texas facility since 2007.

The company, under a different name, had manufactured dried smoked catfish steaks and other smoked seafood products and had been subject to a consent decree of permanent injunction requiring it to develop and implement an adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for its fish and fishery products. The firm had not developed this plan. The company cannot restart manufacturing until they have implemented an FDA-approved HACCP plan.

"We simply will not allow a company to put the public's health at risk by not implementing adequate procedures and plans to produce safe food," said Margaret O'K. Glavin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "The FDA will take action against companies and against their executives who violate the law and endanger public health."

The FDA's HACCP regulations require that all seafood processors develop and implement adequate HACCP plans that identify all food safety hazards that are likely to occur for each kind of seafood product that they process, and set forth preventative measures to control those hazards.

The HACCP violations documented by the FDA pose a public health hazard because, without adequate controls, Hope Food Supply's seafood products could harbor pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes. Food products with these kinds of pathogens can cause serious illnesses in people who eat them.

The company's products have been distributed nationwide. The FDA is advising consumers who bought smoked seafood products to check with the place of purchase to determine if the products came from Hope Foods. If so, consumers should throw the products out by placing them in a trash receptacle.

Consumers who have been eating Hope Seafood Supply's dried smoked catfish or other smoked seafood products and have experienced adverse reactions should consult their health care professional. Consumers and health care professionals can also report adverse events to the FDA consumer complaint coordinator in their geographic area. Contact numbers may be found online at www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

For more information, consumers can call the FDA's toll-free Food Safety Hotline at 1-888-SAFEFOOD.