CHICAGO (CBS) — The Food and Drug Administration warned stores and restaurants across the country Wednesday not to sell or serve oysters from British Columbia, Canada, because they may be contaminated with norovirus.
Illinois was one of the states where the oysters were sold. They were also sold in Arizona, California, Colorado, DC, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
The oysters were sold as Fanny Bay, Buckley Bay and Royal Miyagi.
The oysters were harvested between December 1 and 9 from production areas BC 14-8, Landfiles (LF) # 1413888, 1409240, 1402294, 1409454, 1402193, 1402293, 1402060, and production area BC 14-15, LF # 249854.
Symptoms of norovirus include diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach cramps. A fever may also develop.
Restaurants and retailers who have the oysters must throw them away or return them to their distributor for destruction. The FDA also advised that shellfish in general can be a source of pathogens and that the risk of cross-contamination of food processing equipment and the food processing environment should be averted.
