A ROGUE batch of tuna has triggered warnings across some regions of southern Spain.
In a statement released over the weekend, it was recommended that people should avoid eating fresh tuna that was contained in a lot numbered 170419003251 sold by Garciden – a company based in Vera in Almeria – to avoid the possibility of poisoning. The communiqué specifically stated that a piece of dangerous tuna had been detected in the Alcantarilla market.
The local government of Andalucia are aware of 21 cases of poisoning and has also confirmed the existence of some unsafe batches in the province of Granada and the town of Cazorla, Jaén.
The situation has caused the Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition of the Ministry of Health to warn of the existence of these unfit batches after confirming ‘several outbreaks of histamine poisoning’.
Histamine poisoning is associated with poor hygiene in food handling and, above all, poor fish preservation, usually at elevated temperatures for prolonged periods of time. If fish are not stored correctly it can appear in high quantities, and can cause anyone affected to suffer from an itchy throat, sweating, nausea, vomiting, and headaches.
Anyone suffering from any of these symptoms after eating fresh tuna should visit their doctor as soon as possible where medication can be administered.
The public health department said that the affected batch of fresh tuna weighed 13,949 kilos and that “histamine had been detected because it had not been kept at the right temperature”. Apparently, it came from a frozen item, later thawed, sold in complete pieces and vacuum packed.
It was sold by Garciden between April 25 and May 5, with an expiry date ten days after, so some of the batch may still be on sale.
The majority of those affected by this substance are concentrated in the city of Granada, that has suffered 16 of the 21 cases. The other five poisonings have occurred in the province of Jaén.
