News
Action taken to remove Bantry Bay Seafood products from stores
By Department of Consumer Protection
Aug 19, 2008 - 2:50:36 PM

Department of Consumer Protection food safety inspectors are working with retailers in the state to remove certain frozen cooked mussel products made by Bantry Bay Seafoods from store shelves and is urging consumers to avoid their consumption, following yesterday’s warning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that they may be contaminated with azaspiracid toxins, a group of naturally occurring marine toxins known to cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps.

“We are aware that the products have been carried by Shaw’s supermarkets in Connecticut, and there may be others, so we are reaching out to all seafood retailers to check their inventory and remove these potentially hazardous items,” Consumer protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. said today. “Consumers who have any of these products at home need to throw them out or bring them back to the store for a refund – please don’t consume them.”

The following Bantry Bay Seafood frozen cooked products with "Best before" dates ranging from January 23, 2009, to November 15, 2009 should be returned or discarded:

• Mussels in Garlic Butter Sauce
• Mussels in White Wine Sauce
• Mussels in Tomato and Garlic Sauce

These products are sold frozen in one-pound cardboard packages in stores throughout the United States. The "best before” dates are displayed on the side of the box in the following format: MM:DD:YY. Products to be thrown out are marked with dates 01:23:09 through 11:15:09.

In July, two people in Washington state became ill after eating Bantry Bay "Mussels in a Garlic Butter Sauce." The FDA tested unopened product from the same production lot and found that it contained azaspiracid toxins, which are odorless, tasteless, and cannot be destroyed or neutralized by freezing or cooking, including boiling.

Individuals who have experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such
as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramps after eating any of the recalled products should consult their health care professional. Symptoms typically occur within hours of consumption and persist for two to three days.

Foodservice operators are also urged to remove these products, and any food in which these products were used as an ingredient, from sale or service.

For more information, please visit the Web site for FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html.

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