The US Food and Drug Administration has reportedly condemned 27 imports this year of smoked salmon from Scottish firms as unfit for human consumption.
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Since January, 15 shipments of Scottish smoked salmon have been turned away by the FDA because of listeria contamination, while nine shipments were classified as “insanitary”. A further three shipments were described as “filthy”, reported the Sunday Herald.
Salmon from seven Scottish companies has been rejected, including ten shipments from Loch Fyne Oysters and five from Pinneys of Scotland, a brand owned by European food group Uniq.
Andy Lane, managing director of Loch Fyne Oysters, says the tough stance by the FDA is forcing companies to abandon to lucrative US market.
“It is a scandal,” Lane was quoted by the Sunday Herald as saying. “If I could sue, I would.”
Pinneys said its smoked salmon is produced in line with European regulations.
“US standards are technically different and this has led to occasions when some produce has been refused sale in the US on very specific technical grounds,” a spokeswoman for Pinneys was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The FDA said its microbiological requirements were the same as in most other developed countries.
“The product is consumed with no further heating and held in refrigerated storage for extended periods,” and FDA spokesman said. “It has been implicated in outbreaks of listeriosis, and supports the growth of listeria monocytogenes.”
