Malaysia
Singapore
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Malaysia’s Department of Fisheries (DOF) has informed the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) that mussels from Port Dickson’s waters are contaminated and unsafe for consumption.
Additionally, the health department of Negeri Sembilan has reported that 2 out of 8 patients who developed food poisoning from mussels were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).
Contaminating these mussels are marine biotoxins, among other harmful algae that increase rapidly during an algae bloom. According to SFA, these biotoxins do not pose food safety risks when they are low in concentration and algae blooms occur due to environmental changes, which include warmer water temperatures.
Could this be caused by the extreme heat we are currently facing?
As reported by CNA, deputy director-general of DOF, Wan Aznan Abdullah said that while the hot weather contributes to rapid algae growth, it has no effect on other marine life like fish & crabs. On the contrary, bivalves that include mussels can easily accumulate toxins.
To prevent the spread of food poisoning cases caused by mussels, SFA is confirming mussel import sources with importers, and restricting mussel sale and supply from Port Dickson.
Despite recent rumours of a shellfish poisoning outbreak in Bedok, there are fortunately no biotoxins detected by SFA in Singapore’s seafood imports over recent weeks.
As a precaution, though, SFA has urged consumers to avoid consuming bivalves as they may contain biotoxins that are unable to be removed through cooking. Similarly, Mr Wan Aznan advised not to consume bivalves from 5 to 25 April as more tests are still underway.
So do think twice before you give in to your lala and other bivalve-related cravings.
