Smoked Fish Recall: Listeria Risk, Symptoms, and What to Do If You Ate It

On October 10, 2026, Krasnyi Oktyabr Inc., a Brooklyn wholesale distributor, announced a voluntary recall of Starfish Seafood Trio, a vacuum-sealed 8-ounce package of cold-smoked salmon, halibut and trout from Latvia. The recalled lot is D139149161-153. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets flagged possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The product was distributed to New York, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, North Carolina and South Carolina. No illnesses have been reported so far.

Why Listeria is serious

Listeria is different from most food poisoning. Healthy adults may have only mild symptoms or none. But for pregnant women, adults over 65, newborns and anyone with a weakened immune system, Listeria can cause bloodstream infection (sepsis), meningitis, miscarriage or stillbirth. Cold-smoked fish is a known risk because it isn’t cooked before eating, and Listeria can grow in a refrigerator.

Symptoms can take days to as long as 70 days to appear. That’s why a recall like this matters even when no one has reported being sick.

Check your refrigerator and freezer

• Look for “Starfish Seafood Trio” and lot number D139149161-153.
• If you have it, don’t eat it. Throw it away or return it to the store for a refund.
• Wipe down shelves, drawers and containers that touched the package. Wash your hands afterward.

If you ate it, watch for symptoms

Seek medical attention right away if you develop fever, muscle aches, severe headache, stiff neck, confusion, vomiting or nausea. Pregnant women should call their OB provider even for a mild fever or flu-like illness. Tell the doctor you may have been exposed to Listeria. Ask whether a blood culture is appropriate, because Listeria is diagnosed by culture, not by a routine stool test. Don’t wait for a recall announcement to name your illness.

If you get sick, preserve the evidence

If you become seriously ill after eating a recalled product, what you do in the first days can matter later.

1. Get medical care first. Your health comes first. Follow your doctor’s treatment plan.
2. Keep the product and packaging. Don’t throw it away. Seal it in a bag or container, label it “DO NOT EAT,” and keep it in your freezer. The lot number, label and any remaining product can be tested. Keep the outer packaging too.
3. Keep your proof of purchase. Save receipts, store loyalty-card records, credit card or bank statements, delivery or online order confirmations, and photos of the product.
4. Photograph everything. Take photos of the package, label, lot number and expiration date, and of where the product was stored.
5. Write a timeline. Note when you ate the product, who else ate it, when symptoms began, and every doctor visit. Do it soon, while memory is fresh.
6. Ask for testing and keep your medical records. Ask your provider whether Listeria testing was done and where the lab results are. Request copies of the records, including cultures. If a sample was sent to a lab, public health officials can link a case to an outbreak through DNA fingerprinting (whole genome sequencing).
7. Report it. Tell your local health department. In South Carolina, that is the Department of Public Health. You can also report to the FDA at fda.gov/safety/report-problem-fda. Reports help officials spot outbreaks.
8. Don’t sign anything or give a recorded statement to an insurer or company without legal advice.
9. Keep records of costs. Save medical bills, lost-work records and other out-of-pocket costs.

When to talk to a lawyer

Not every food-borne illness leads to a legal claim. But if you or a loved one was hospitalized, developed sepsis or meningitis, suffered a pregnancy loss, or if a family member died after eating a recalled product, speak with an attorney. Deadlines apply, and in South Carolina the general time limit for personal-injury claims is typically three years. Wrongful-death and other claims can differ, so don’t rely on this article for your own deadline.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship. Recall details come from public reports and may change; check FDA.gov for the latest notice.