Hawaii commissaries issue fresh seafood notice

Commissaries in Hawaii issued a notice today for customers who purchased certain fresh seafood items — Blue Marlin, Ahi steaks or fillets, or Poke — after August 14 to not consume those products due to food safety issues, and return any unused products to the store for full refunds.

The stores today halted fresh seafood sales in accordance with actions by the U.S. Army Public Health Center, which has suspended the stores’ fresh seafood provider because of food safety concerns.

The concern is that the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Laboratory testing conducted by DOD has suggested the supplier’s products may be part of a confirmed foodborne outbreak in the area, according to the Army Public Health Center.

“Once the supplier has been thoroughly inspected and laboratory tests confirm the issue has been appropriately addressed, we can restore fresh seafood sales to our commissaries,” said Army Lt. Col. Angela Parham, the Defense Commissary Agency’s director of public health and safety.

This notice affects only the commissaries at Schofield Barracks, Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay and the two commissaries at Joint Base Pearl Harbor and Hickam Field, which all had the same fresh seafood provider, Parham said.

This notice only involves these products — Blue Marlin, Ahi steaks or fillets, or Poke — sold at the fresh seafood departments of the commissaries.

Customers should return items to the commissary of purchase for a full refund.