France Recalls Refrigerated Whole Cooked Shrimp Due to Listeria monocytogenes Nationwide

The official RappelConso portal published on October 9, 2026 the voluntary recall of refrigerated whole cooked shrimp, from a farmed tropical species, in 300-gram packaging with a 30/40 count, due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The product, which is kept refrigerated, was sold throughout French territory through a distributor. The notice asks consumers to return the product to the point of sale, where a refund is offered, and notes that the recall is voluntary, with no prefectural order.

Ready-to-eat cooked shrimp is a known risk matrix for Listeria monocytogenes: it receives no further cooking at home, it is eaten cold, and the bacterium grows at refrigeration temperatures, so a finding in the packaged product requires a recall even when contamination is low. Contamination usually occurs after industrial cooking, during peeling, sorting or packing, from surfaces, conveyor belts and brines.

Listeriosis can be serious: the notice recommends consulting a doctor for fever, with or without headache and muscle aches, and reporting the consumption, and it notes that the incubation period can last up to eight weeks. Pregnant women, immunocompromised people and older adults should be especially alert, because the infection can cause neurological complications and maternal or fetal damage.

For fisheries and aquaculture facilities, the case reinforces the importance of environmental monitoring programs in areas downstream of cooking and of verification of the finished product. The Ampliora 2.3 kit from TAAG detects Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes by real-time PCR, with food and surfaces as validated matrices and fisheries and aquaculture among its industries. The association is indirect: the notice does not describe analyses performed with the kit, and cooked crustaceans are not specifically listed among the matrices.