Why does vacuum-sealed fish caution against thawing in the package, but vacuum-sealed meat doesn't?

Question

Whenever I buy frozen vacuum-sealed fish, the package clearly instructs me not to thaw the fish without removing it from the vacuum seal. This makes sense in a hazy intuitive way if I think about anaerobic bacteria like botulinum.

However, the frozen vacuum-sealed meat I buy has no such warning. For example, Omaha Steaks explicitly suggests thawing meat in the vacuum-sealed packaging.

I can't think of any reason why one would be OK if the other isn't. Is this a regulatory quirk, or is there a genuine reason why the correct thawing procedures are different?

Answer 1

Packaged fish is commonly known to contain Clostridium botulinum, either because its habitat generates the bacteria, or because of exposure somewhere between where the animal dies and your dinner plate.

Clostridium botulinum only causes illness if it can produce the botulinum toxin, and botulinum develops only at specific temperatures and in an anaerobic (there is little to no oxygen present) environment.

Botulism can cause death.

So, to eliminate risk of illness or death, avoid thawing your fish in an intact vacuum package.