Salmon Scare

Only a few months ago, Alaska's $1.5 billion fishing industry expected a good year. The state department of fish and game has been predicting a record catch of up to 135 million salmon. Now the outlook has been shattered. A recall of more than 50 million cans of Alaska salmon is under way. Says Lieutenant Governor Terry Miller: "The situation is very grave. The industry is in serious trouble."

The Food and Drug Administration recall followed the death on Feb. 6 of Eric Malthay of Brussels. Malthay, 27, contracted botulism, a lethal form of food poisoning, after eating a 7¾-oz. can of Alaska salmon. Concern intensified in the U.S. after a 68-year-old Hartford, Conn., woman was hospitalized in critical condition on March 31. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta said last week that botulism was probably not the cause of the illness, but the hospital insisted that it was.

FDA inspectors believe the toxin that killed Malthay entered the container through tiny holes accidentally punched by can-forming equipment made by American Can Co. The firm is working to correct the defect. Says Eric Eckholm, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: "We must get the American public to understand that this was a problem with the can and not the product. The failure was with the mechanical process." Meanwhile, Miller has proposed a $5 million campaign to stress the safety of eating Alaska salmon.