Public urged not to consume contaminated razor clams from the United Kingdom

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (May 4) urged the public not to consume two consignments of razor clams imported from the United Kingdom which might have been contaminated with phycotoxins to prevent diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. The trade should also stop selling the concerned products.

The two consignments of affected products, weighing about 900 kilogrammes in total, were produced by "Buckhaven Shellfish" in Scotland of the United Kingdom.

"The CFS received notification from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission that certain razor clams harvested at Largo Bay, Scotland, were found to be contaminated with phycotoxins which may cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning," a CFS spokesman said.

"Investigation revealed that the affected products had been passed from the importer to a local distributor. All of them were sold out on May 1 at 'Union Marine Products Trading Co.' in the Aberdeen Wholesale Fish Market," he added.

The spokesman advised customers who had bought the affected products not to consume them and to seek medical advice if they feel sick after eating the products concerned. The trade should also stop selling the affected products.

So far the CFS has not received any report of person feeling unwell after consumption of or complaint about the affected products.

Ingestion of shellfish contaminated with phycotoxins may cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. Patients will develop diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting, chills and moderate to severe abdominal pain between 30 minutes and several hours. Usually, recovery is expected within a few days.

"The CFS has alerted the trade of the incident and will continue to follow up," the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, May 4, 2011