FDA: Shellfish from Oregon, Washington may have paralytic toxin

||| FROM UPI NEWS |||

Seafood lovers should steer clear of shellfish from Oregon and Washington state because of possible contamination with a paralyzing toxin, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned.

In an advisory, the FDA told consumers to avoid oysters and bay clams harvested from Netarts and Tillamook bays in northern Oregon since May 28, as well as shellfish harvested from areas around Willapa Bay in southern Washington since May 26.

Shellfish harvested from those areas during that period were also distributed to Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada and New York, so the FDA has warned restaurants and retailers in those states not to serve the shellfish because of the potential for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).

“Food containing PSPs may look, smell, and taste normal. These toxins cannot be removed by cooking or freezing,” the agency stressed. “Consumers of these products who are experiencing symptoms of illness should contact their healthcare provider and report their symptoms to their local Health Department.”

High levels of toxins were first found in shellfish on the Oregon coast in mid-May, state health officials said in a public advisory.

Since then, the outbreak has sickened at least 20 people in Oregon, the advisory noted. In response, Oregon health authorities have closed the state’s entire coastline to the harvesting of mussels, razor clams and bay clams. Agriculture officials have also closed three bays to commercial oyster harvesting.