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| Shetland suspends mussel harvesting after food poisoning | Shetland suspends mussel harvesting after food poisoning |
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| The mussels industry in Shetland has suspended all commercial harvesting after food poisoning incidents linked to restaurants belonging to the Belgo chain and others in south-east England. | The mussels industry in Shetland has suspended all commercial harvesting after food poisoning incidents linked to restaurants belonging to the Belgo chain and others in south-east England. |
| About 70 people have reported symptoms consistent with having consumed shellfish toxins, most between 10 and 12 days ago, the UK Food Standards Agency) said. The company that supplied the shellfish, Shetland Mussels, says all the mussels from the affected batch have either been eaten or disposed off. Other farmers have voluntarily stopped production until toxin levels subside, leading their trade association to insist there is no longer any risk to public health. Shetland provides more than two-thirds of Scotland's 4,430 tonnes of mussels and directly employs more than 130 people. | About 70 people have reported symptoms consistent with having consumed shellfish toxins, most between 10 and 12 days ago, the UK Food Standards Agency) said. The company that supplied the shellfish, Shetland Mussels, says all the mussels from the affected batch have either been eaten or disposed off. Other farmers have voluntarily stopped production until toxin levels subside, leading their trade association to insist there is no longer any risk to public health. Shetland provides more than two-thirds of Scotland's 4,430 tonnes of mussels and directly employs more than 130 people. |
| The toxins can cause nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting and adbominal pain, and fever between 30 minutes and three hours after eating and last two or three days. | The toxins can cause nausea, diarrhoea, vomiting and adbominal pain, and fever between 30 minutes and three hours after eating and last two or three days. |
| Customers reported illness after eating at four Belgo restaurants in London, the Boulevard Brasserie in Covent Garden, the Pig's Ears in Richmond, two branches of Zero Degrees in south London and Reading and The Phoenix in Hook, Hampshire. All the restaurants "acted appropriately" by notifying authorities, said the FSA, which has reminded businesses to check their food safety controls. | Customers reported illness after eating at four Belgo restaurants in London, the Boulevard Brasserie in Covent Garden, the Pig's Ears in Richmond, two branches of Zero Degrees in south London and Reading and The Phoenix in Hook, Hampshire. All the restaurants "acted appropriately" by notifying authorities, said the FSA, which has reminded businesses to check their food safety controls. |
| Toxins are caused by naturally-occuring marine phytoplankton and levels are higher during the summer. Both the FSA and industry operate sampling programmes and the FSA regularly closes areas where the toxins exceed the limits. Thirteen of 20 Shetland harvesting areas are already closed because of this phenomenon, but the others have now been voluntarily closed. Investigations are under way to assess what went wrong. | Toxins are caused by naturally-occuring marine phytoplankton and levels are higher during the summer. Both the FSA and industry operate sampling programmes and the FSA regularly closes areas where the toxins exceed the limits. Thirteen of 20 Shetland harvesting areas are already closed because of this phenomenon, but the others have now been voluntarily closed. Investigations are under way to assess what went wrong. |
| There are sure to be questions about whether the present system of checks is good enough.Belgo said it took food safety and hygiene standards "incredibly seriously" and had first identified an issue relating to batch of mussels used in one of its restaurants on 14 July. "The mussels were harvested in an area with unusually high levels of naturally occurring toxicity and the product has been removed from all our restaurants as soon as we discovered that it might cause ill health", the company said in a statement. | There are sure to be questions about whether the present system of checks is good enough.Belgo said it took food safety and hygiene standards "incredibly seriously" and had first identified an issue relating to batch of mussels used in one of its restaurants on 14 July. "The mussels were harvested in an area with unusually high levels of naturally occurring toxicity and the product has been removed from all our restaurants as soon as we discovered that it might cause ill health", the company said in a statement. |
| "We can confirm that there is no risk for customers. We operate a robust supplier approval and monitoring program, ensuring suppliers achieve the best industry standards. The product in question was harvested from areas monitored by the Food Standards Agency Scotland and approved safe. We continue to liaise closely with the supplier as we investigate this matter further." | "We can confirm that there is no risk for customers. We operate a robust supplier approval and monitoring program, ensuring suppliers achieve the best industry standards. The product in question was harvested from areas monitored by the Food Standards Agency Scotland and approved safe. We continue to liaise closely with the supplier as we investigate this matter further." |
| Michael Tait, managing director of Shetland Mussels, said an "unprecedented" rise in phytoplankton levels in harvest sites had occurred between the testing of samples. "This is the first time we have experienced a problem of customer illness in our 16 years of production … Unfortunately and regrettably, the unprecedented increases seen here meant the toxin levels increased within the timeframe between samples." | Michael Tait, managing director of Shetland Mussels, said an "unprecedented" rise in phytoplankton levels in harvest sites had occurred between the testing of samples. "This is the first time we have experienced a problem of customer illness in our 16 years of production … Unfortunately and regrettably, the unprecedented increases seen here meant the toxin levels increased within the timeframe between samples." |
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