FDA Warns Consumers Not to Eat Certain Mussel Products
from Bantry Bay Seafood
Aug. 18, 2008 - DENVER - The Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment’s Consumer Protection
Division announced today the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration has warned consumers not to eat certain
frozen cooked mussel products made by Bantry Bay Seafoods.
These products, imported from Ireland, may be contaminated
with azaspiracid toxins, a group of naturally occurring
marine toxins known to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and
stomach cramps. Symptoms typically occur within hours of
consumption and persist for two to three days. The FDA
reported two people in Washington state became ill after
eating the company’s Mussels in a Garlic Butter Sauce. The
FDA tested unopened product from the same production lot and
found it contained the azaspiracid toxins. No confirmed
illnesses in Colorado have been reported. These products
are sold frozen in 1-pound cardboard packages in stores
throughout the United States, including Colorado. A Safeway
representative verified that the Mussels in Garlic Butter
Sauce were distributed to Colorado stores.
Consumers should throw out or return to place of purchase
three varieties of Bantry Bay Seafood frozen mussel
products, with “best before end” dates ranging from Jan. 23,
2009, to Nov. 15, 2009. The three products are Mussels in a
Garlic Butter Sauce, Mussels in White Wine Sauce, and
Mussels in Tomato and Garlic Butter Sauce. The “best before
end” dates are displayed on the side of the box in the
following format: MM:DD:YY. Products to be thrown out are
marked with dates 01:23:09 through 11:15:09. Azaspiracid
toxins are odorless and tasteless and cannot be destroyed or
neutralized by freezing or cooking, including boiling.
Individuals who have experienced the above identified
gastrointestinal symptoms after eating any of theses
products should consult their health care professional.
The FDA also recommends that retailers and food service
operators remove these products, and any food in which these
products were used as an ingredient, from sale or service.
Azaspiracid toxins were an unknown marine toxin until 1995,
when they were identified and linked to an outbreak of
foodborne illnesses associated with consumption of Irish
shellfish. The toxins have been identified in other
shellfish from the west coast of Europe. They have never
been detected in shellfish harvested from U.S. waters. For
more information, please visit the Web site for FDA’s Center
for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html or contact Daniel
Rifkin, Wholesale Food Program manager, Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment, Consumer Protection
Division at 303-692-3644. |
