The Food and Drug Administration has stopped the shipment of fresh and frozen oysters, clams, mussels and scallops from Korea to the U.S. because many of these molluscan shellfish may be contaminated, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Health.
The ban does not include canned shellfish.
The action comes with removal of all certified dealers in the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program from the FDA’s Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List, the health department stated.
As a result, the Washington State Department of Health is advising consumers not to eat any fresh or frozen shellfish from Korea and is working with distributors and local health agencies to recall such products.
In November, 2011, frozen oysters from Korea were linked to an outbreak of norovirus in Washington state’s King County. Three people were sickened after eating oysters at a restaurant in the Seattle area.
