The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to avoid shellfish from Oregon and Washington that may be potentially “contaminated with paralytic shellfish toxins.
” The shellfish in question include oysters and bay clams from Netarts Bay and Tillamook Bay, Oregon, harvested on or after May 28, and all shellfish species from the area of Willapa Bay, Washington, harvested between May 26 and May 30. The FDA said in a warning last week that the shellfish were distributed to restaurants and food retailers, or purchased by consumers, in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington. Businesses should not serve or sell the shellfish, and they should be thrown out.
Consumers are warned not to eat them as “they may be contaminated with the toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning.” Paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, happens after consuming shellfish contaminated with saxitoxin, which can cause gastrointestinal distress, neurological symptoms, and a sensation of “floating” or disassociation. While most patients recover without treatment, weakness could progress to respiratory paralysis and asphyxiation, according to the National Library of Medicine .
The FDA said that shellfish are contaminated with natural toxins from the water where they live, most produced by naturally occurring marine algae. “Shellfish can retain the toxin for different lengths of time. Some species cleanse themselves of toxins rapidly, whereas o.
