Mariscos Bahia, Inc.
Outcome
FDA issued a warning letter on February 7, 2023, after an October 2022 inspection of Mariscos Bahia Inc.'s Pico Rivera, California seafood processing facility found 18 environmental swabs positive for Salmonella — including the outbreak strain Salmonella Litchfield that had caused 39 illnesses in a multistate outbreak linked to the company's fresh raw salmon sold to restaurants in California and Arizona.
Details
Mariscos Bahia, Inc. — Salmonella Outbreak / Raw Salmon / FDA Warning Letter (2023)
Outcome: FDA issued a warning letter on February 7, 2023, after inspecting Mariscos Bahia Inc.'s Pico Rivera, California seafood processing facility in October 2022 following a multistate Salmonella Litchfield outbreak; 18 environmental swabs at the facility tested positive for Salmonella — including the outbreak strain — and Whole Genome Sequencing confirmed environmental isolates matched 39 clinical patient isolates from California, Arizona, and two other states.
Mariscos Bahia, Inc. operates a seafood processing facility at 8300 Rex Rd., Pico Rivera, California, which processes and distributes fresh raw fish products including salmon, halibut, Chilean seabass, tuna, and swordfish to restaurants in the Los Angeles area and broader region. In October 2022, FDA, CDC, and state partners investigated a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Litchfield infections linked to raw salmon sold by Mariscos Bahia to restaurants in California and Arizona where the fish was served raw in sushi, poke, and other preparations.
FDA and the California Department of Public Health jointly inspected the Pico Rivera facility from October 6–21, 2022. Laboratory analysis of 18 environmental swabs collected during the inspection confirmed positive results for three Salmonella serovars: Salmonella Litchfield, Salmonella Mbandaka, and Salmonella Oranienburg. Whole Genome Sequencing analysis determined that the Salmonella Litchfield environmental isolates matched the clinical isolates from 39 outbreak patients, establishing the facility as the confirmed source of the multistate outbreak.
The facility recalled its fresh raw salmon and other fish processed in the same area. FDA issued the formal warning letter on February 7, 2023, citing seafood HACCP violations under 21 CFR Part 123 and CGMP violations for the insanitary conditions that allowed Salmonella contamination to persist in the processing environment.
Primary Source: Mariscos Bahia, Inc. - 646401 - 02/07/2023 | FDA
How Crucible Prevents This
Environmental Salmonella contamination at a raw fish processing facility that supplies sushi and poke restaurants — where fish is consumed raw — presents an exceptionally direct exposure pathway. The HACCP regulations for seafood (21 CFR Part 123) require Salmonella as a hazard for salmon intended for raw consumption, with appropriate controls. Crucible's DECISIONS log would require the facility to document the status of its Salmonella environmental monitoring results and corrective action closure before each day's production. An 18-swab positive environmental finding is incompatible with any active HACCP verification program.
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