The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a notice about a voluntary recall of canned tuna fish sold at several grocers. The recalled tuna is sold under the Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B, and Trader Joe’s brand names and is made by Tri-Union Seafoods. The manufacturer discovered defective pull-tab lids, which led to the recall.

These defective cans have the potential to leak or allow bacteria to contaminate the product. The bacteria they are concerned about is clostridium botulinum, a potentially fatal toxin. This toxin leads to a type of food poisoning known as botulism, which attacks the body’s nervous and respiratory systems, causing paralysis or — even worse — death. At this time, no cases of illness have been reported.

This recall affects tuna sold in 27 states at various grocery stores. Costco — which had a recall on almost 80,000 pounds of butter last fall — Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter, Publix, H-E-B, Kroger, Safeway, and Walmart are all retailers who have been ordered to pull the offending tuna off of their shelves. The stores and states that are affected, product names, codes, and use-by dates are all listed on the FDA’s recall notice.

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What To Do If You Have The Recalled Tuna

Genova yellowfin tuna can stacked at a store – The Image Party/Shutterstock

If you purchased the affected tuna, return it to the store where you bought it for a full refund, or discard it. Do not eat it under any circumstances. Additionally, Tri-Union Seafoods can be contacted directly for a retrieval kit via the information provided on the FDA website.

Sometimes, events that lead to botulism can occur long after the food has left the manufacturing plant: for instance, cans that have been dented in transit or in the store itself. Dented cans should always be discarded or brought to the attention of the store manager to avoid the risk of food poisoning.

Botulism is the same toxin that affected Snapchill canned coffee in 2024, which also led to a voluntary nationwide recall. Voluntary recalls are a way for manufacturers to be proactive when a food item has a chance of being contaminated, avoiding serious illness for consumers and lawsuits for the company.

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