Tuna sold in California and other national grocery chains — including Costco, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, and Kroger — is being recalled due to possible food poisoning and other dangers, federal officials announced.
Tri-Union Seafoods, based in El Segundo, issued a voluntary recall on Feb. 7 for lots of canned tuna products sold under the Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B, and Trader Joe’s brand names, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced.
According to a notice published by the FDA on Monday, Feb. 10, the tuna was shipped to stores in 27 states.
Tri-Union Seafoods reported it was notified the “easy open” pull tab can lid on some of the products encountered a manufacturing defect. That can cause the can to leak or be contaminated with clostridium botulinum, which causes food poisoning and can lead to death.
There were no reported illnesses from eating the recalled tuna as of the morning of Feb. 11.
Here’s what to know about the recall, including where the product has been sold and what to do if you bought the impacted item.
Recall database: USA TODAY’s convenient database of publicly available recall data
What stores did the tuna sell in, and in which states?
The impacted products were distributed to the grocery stores in the following states:
∎ Genova (5 oz.): Harris Teeter, Publix, H-E-B, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart and independent retailers in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas.
∎ H-E-B label: Texas
∎ Trader Joe’s label: Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C. and Wisconsin.
Food recall: FDA recalls more than 2 million baked goods over concerns of listeria contamination
∎ Genova (7 oz.): Costco in Florida and Georgia.
∎ Van Camp’s label: Walmart and independent retailers in Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey
A full list of the products, their respective can codes, UPC labels, and best if used by date can be found on the FDA’s website.
What is Clostridium botulinum?
Clostridium botulinum is a rod-shaped, spore-forming bacterium that can produce botulinum toxins under low-oxygen conditions, according to the USDA.
The bacterium grows on improperly sterilized canned meats and other preserved foods. According to the Centers for Disease Control, if consumed, it can cause food poisoning (botulism), which causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.
FDA: Throw out the tuna or return it for a refund
Anyone who consumed the tuna, the company wrote in its recall, should seek immediate medical attention, according to the FDA.
Those who purchased a recalled tuna can should return it to the retailer for a full refund, throw it away, or contact Tri-Union Seafoods directly for a retrieval kit and a coupon for a replacement product. Consumers can contact Tri-Union Seafoods at [email protected] or 833-374-0171.
California seafood producer’s parent company clashed with FDA in 2022
Tri-Union Seafoods voluntarily recalled the tuna products “out of an abundance of caution,” the company announced this week.
Based in Los Angeles County, Tri-Union Seafoods manufactures and distributes canned seafood for several brands, including the nationally popular Chicken of the Sea. The latter label isn’t among the products listed in the February 2025 recall.
A subsidiary of the food company Thai Union Group, the Tri-Union opened in 1997 and then expanded production in 2001 with further investment from Thai Union.
Parent company Thai Union came under fire by the FDA in 2022 for health violations committed at its tuna processing facility in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, the FDA reported.
“Your frozen, pre-cooked tuna loin products are adulterated, in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health,” the FDA said in a warning letter, issued to Thai Union on April 20, 2022.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY: Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund. Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network: Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: FDA recalls California biz’s tuna sold at grocery stores in 27 states
