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The US Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers, restaurants, and retailers across several states in the Northeast to dispose of raw oysters harvested from the Groton Approved Area in New London County between Monday, Aug. 28 and Wednesday, Aug. 30, officials announced on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The affected raw oysters were sent to retailers and distributors in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, and may have even been sent further than these states, according to the FDA.
The advisory was issued after the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Bureau of Aquaculture initiated an emergency precautionary closure of two approved harvest areas in the Groton area and oyster recall after sample results showed possible contamination.
All of the impacted commercial harvesters volunteered to recall the oysters collected between Aug. 28 and Aug. 30, FDA officials said, adding that the affected area will remain closed until the source of contamination is found.
Those who eat contaminated raw oysters can get sick with food poisoning caused by pathogens such as Salmonella or E. coli. Symptoms, which can start within a few hours or a few days, can include:
- Diarrhea;
- Stomach pain;
- Cramps;
- Nausea;
- Vomiting;
- Fever.
These symptoms can last for hours or days, FDA officials said.
Additionally, raw seafood has also been linked to flesh-eating vibrio vulnificus infections, which have killed at least 13 people on the Eastern Seaboard in 2023 and have caused around 80,000 illnesses annually in the US.
Anyone who eats raw oysters that may be contaminated and experience food poisoning symptoms should contact their healthcare provider to receive care, officials said.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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