France Recalls Two Batches of Chilled Cooked Shrimp Over Listeria monocytogenes

On September 25, RappelConso announced two separate recalls of chilled cooked shrimp due to the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The first involves peeled cooked shrimp in 160-gram packs, sold on September 24 and 25 in a supermarket chain's stores in twelve departments in central France and the Paris region. The second affects whole chilled cooked shrimp of organic production, of the species Litopenaeus vannamei, in 300-gram packs, sold in September in two hypermarket chains across France. Both products come from different establishments.

In both cases, the authority asked consumers not to eat the product, to return it to the point of sale, and to consult a doctor in case of fever, headache or muscle aches, with special attention for pregnant women, immunocompromised people and older adults. On the same day, RappelConso also announced Listeria recalls for cooked whelks and herring fillets sold at the fish counter, which brought four ready-to-eat seafood notices together in a single day.

Chilled cooked shellfish is a high-risk food for Listeria monocytogenes because cooking eliminates the bacterium, but the subsequent peeling, cooling and packaging take place in cold, humid environments where it can establish itself persistently. Since consumers eat them as they are, without reheating, any recontamination at those stages goes straight to the plate, and refrigeration does not stop its multiplication.

For TAAG, the coincidence of four cooked seafood recalls on the same day underscores that ready-to-eat seafood plants need a Listeria environmental monitoring program in the peeling, cooling and packaging areas, complemented by finished product testing, because it is in this post-cooking phase that it is decided whether or not the pathogen reaches the consumer.