US FDA issues health alert on Dai One Food oysters due to potential norovirus contamination

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning restaurants, retailers, and consumers that certain raw oysters from Dai One Food Co. could be contaminated with norovirus and should not be served or consumed.

The warning, the FDA said, is for certain oysters harvested between 10 February and 24 February, and on 13 and 14 April, from Designated Area No. II, Dai One Food Co., in the Republic of Korea. Restaurants and food retailers would have received shipments of frozen raw oysters, in the half shell in both individual quick freezing (IQF) and block form.

Consumers – especially the pregnant, elderly, and those with compromised immune systems – from the U.S. states of Hawaii, Georgia, or Minnesota who recently consumed raw oysters and suspect they might have food poisoning should seek medical care immediately, the FDA said.

The notice stems from the Hawaii Department of Health, which notified the FDA of five illnesses from individuals who consumed raw oysters at a restaurant in Hawaii on 10 May. Tracebacks implicated the raw oysters were from a shipment by Dai One Food Co. Then, the Minnesota Department of Health also notified the FDA of five norovirus illnesses in individuals who had consumed raw oysters, and the traceback once again identified raw oysters from Dai One Food Co.

The FDA said it is continuing to monitor the investigation into potential issues, and said it will update the health alert if finds the oysters have been distributed into additional states.

For now, the FDA advises any restaurant or retailer that discovers the oysters should dispose of the products or return them to their distributor for destruction, while also ensuring that any containers that came in contact with the product are thoroughly sanitized.  

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