Authorities in Hong Kong have issued a warning after reports of people falling ill after eating oysters from France.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) of the Department of Food and Environmental Hygiene has ordered the sector to suspend the import of raw oysters harvested in an area identified as 17.C.11 in France.
A spokesperson for CVS said: “CVS was notified by the Ministry of Health’s Center for Health Protection of seven cases of food poisoning involving raw oysters consumed at various restaurants. The CFS investigated the restaurants involved and found this [they] had sold raw oysters harvested in area 17.C.11 in France.”
CFS has ordered suppliers and restaurants to stop supplying and selling the affected raw oysters. Sensitive groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver diseases, should avoid eating raw oysters.
More oyster incidents
Earlier this month, eight people fell ill after a buffet lunch at The Promenade at Harbor Grand Kowloon in Hung Hom. The patients are three men and five women between the ages of 26 and 69. The CHP investigated and revealed that people were consuming regular foods, including raw oysters. The incident may have been caused by the norovirus.
In another incident, a link between oysters and norovirus has also been reported. This cluster involved 12 men and one woman aged 27 to 61, who developed abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea about 13 to 54 hours after eating a buffet lunch at Billow Bar Seafood Bistro in Tai Po.
CHP is investigating another outbreak involving 15 sick people. Five men and 10 women aged 57 to 94 developed symptoms after eating at two restaurants in Zhanjiang during a group trip to Guangdong. One person required hospitalization and was discharged after treatment.
Investigations revealed that the cases had consumed common foods including oysters, abalone, shrimp, sea cucumber and fish. The suspected cause is norovirus or Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
In Finland, the Helsinki Food Safety Unit has learned that 30 people became ill after eating oysters in December. These reports come from different restaurants.
Restaurants have been inspected and food samples taken due to the suspected food poisoning. The results are pending. Based on patient samples, the disease was caused by norovirus. Oysters came from various importers and countries of origin of products, including the Netherlands, France, Spain and Ireland.
Other outbreaks and public consultation
Back in Hong Kong, officials are investigating 41 illnesses linked to a caterer. Eight men and 33 women, aged between 5 and 77, fell ill after consuming food purchased from Cateraway, a factory in Kwun Tong.
Patients often ate pizzas with scallops and seafood with Thousand Island dressing, spaghetti with mentaiko squid in creamy chili sauce, and items with black truffle sauce. The food was suspected to be contaminated with Clostridium perfringens.
Officials conducted an inspection of the site, took food samples for testing and ordered the property to suspend operations and sales of relevant food, clean and disinfect the site and improve the food preparation process. Suspected contributing factors to the incident include preparing food too soon in advance and storing food at incorrect temperatures.
Finally, the government did that opened to an audience comment period on proposed changes to the Food Adulteration (Metal Contamination) Regulations.
“Among the initiatives set out in the appendix to the CEO’s 2024 Policy Address is to review food safety standards under regulations with respect to international standards and practices, to better protect public health, facilitate effective regulation and enhance harmonization between promote local and international food safety standards. ,” said a government spokesperson.
Citing standards set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and major food importers, including China, the government plans to add 27 new maximum levels (MLs) for specific metals, including lead, cadmium and methylmercury, in specific foods and nine MLs for specific foods to update. lead in existing relevant food pairs. The number of MLs will increase from 144 to 171 after the change.
An 18-month transition period is planned after the amended legislation is adopted to allow the food sector and other stakeholders time to make adjustments to comply with the legislation. The consultation is open until February 16, 2025.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)