Announcement

**Pathfinder** · March 2, 2010, 08:54 PM

Re: Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

Ore. seafood company recalls oysters in 10 states

? 2010 The Associated Press
March 2, 2010, 6:14PM

NEWPORT, Ore. ? OM Seafood Co. is recalling oysters that were harvested from Yaquina Bay on the Oregon coast and distributed to nine other states.

The Portland-based company said Tuesday that the oyster meat and oysters in the shell, harvested from Feb. 1 through Feb. 24, may be contaminated with norovirus.

The recalled oyster meat includes all half-pint, pint and half-gallon containers, and 4-gallon buckets with "sell" or "use by" dates of Feb. 15 through March 11. Oysters in the shell include all petite to large Pacific oysters, Kumamoto oysters and Yaquina native oysters.

In Oregon, the oysters were distributed only in Multnomah County. But the oysters were also sent to restaurants and retail stores located in Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and Utah.

Client Challenge

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6893903.html

**Pathfinder** · March 2, 2010, 09:04 PM

Re: Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

Local oyster store loses 500 lbs.+ oysters in recall

Submitted by KATU.com Staff on Tue, 2010-03-02 15:13

News photo above courtesy of OMSeafood.com.

PORTLAND, Ore. ? A Southeast Portland-based oyster reseller is recalling more than 500 pounds of Oregon-harvested oysters after eight people are sickened by oysters from its Newport supplier.

The oysters were purchased from Oregon Oyster Farms, which on Friday instituted its own recall after eight people in Lincoln, Benton and Multnomah counties became sick - though not seriously.

The health department's initial determination is that symptoms indicate norovirus contamination.

The norovirus can be spread by food workers or by touching surfaces that have been contaminated. Consumption can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise, abdominal pain, headache and fever. Symptoms typically pass within two days, however the norovirus continues passing through the body and can be spread by those with symptoms weeks earlier who fail to wash their hands.

The recall notice for OM Seafood's oysters was issued Tuesday morning by the Oregon Department of Agriculture as a courtesy to the local company.

The oysters subject to the recall were sold in the company's Southeast Portland storefront and restaurant, at 3514 S.E. 76th Ave., and distributed to restaurants and stores in Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Massachusetts, Kansas and Colorado.

The recall affects oysters in the shell and oyster meat and harvested by the company from Yaquina Bay in Newport, Ore., from Feb. 1 to Feb. 24. Reportedly all oysters from that bay are commercially harvested by Oregon Oyster Farms. The Oregon Department of Agriculture is reportedly testing water from the bay, but Food Safety Division Supervisor Dawn Smith tells us they have received no test results to date.

Recalled oyster meat includes all OM Seafood Co.-labeled half-pint containers, pint containers, half-gallon containers and 4-gallon buckets. All shucked product containers with sell, or use by, dates of Feb. 15 through March 11 are included in this recall.

Recalled oysters in the shell include all large, medium, small, extra-small and petite Pacific oysters, Kumamoto oysters, and Yaquina native oysters with the OM Seafood label.

OM Seafood Co. stopped selling and distributing the recalled products as of Feb. 25.

Consumers who have purchased Yaquina Bay oysters are being told to "discard any remaining product." Health officials also indicate that heating food to around 200 degress Fahreheit, just below the temperature for boiling water, can kill the virus.

A recall sign has been posted at the company?s retail store and at the restaurant. Consumers may contact OM Seafood owners Tak Sam Ho or Shi Qiong Ho at (503) 788-1984 or (503) 703-0817.

http://southeastportland.katu.com/content/local-oyster-store-loses-500-lbs-oysters-recall

**Pathfinder** · March 3, 2010, 07:24 PM

Re: Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

Newport oyster recall growing

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Portland-based OM Seafood Co. is recalling oyster products harvested in

Yaquina Bay at Newport from Feb. 1-24, due to a possible norovirus contamination -- the second such recall in as many weeks.

A spokeswoman with OM Seafood said the company received its products from Newport-based Oregon Oyster Farms, which issued the first recall.

Norovirus-associated illnesses from oysters is generally only a problem in warm-water environments.

The source of this virus is unknown at this point.

'We don't know if it came from a sewage spill or what," Oregon Department of Agriculture spokesman Bruce Pokarney said.

Oyster meat recalled includes all half-pint, pint, half-gallon containers and four-gallon buckets, according to a news release.

Oysters in the shell include all large, medium, small, extra-small, and petite Pacific oysters, Kumamoto oysters, and Yaquina native oysters. All shucked product containers with sell or use-by dates of Feb. 15 through March 11 are included, as well.

Consumption of these products may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise, abdominal pain, headache and fever.

OM Seafood has only distributed Yaquina Bay oysters in Multnomah County.

The company has stopped selling and distributing oyster products, effective immediately, since receipt of notice from the Oregon Oyster Farms last week.

Consumers who have purchased Yaquina Bay oysters are encouraged to discard any remaining oysters.

The recall does not affect oysters harvested in Winchester Bay or Coos Bay.

Lilli Clausen, of Clausen Oysters in North Bend, said last week that she had never heard of such a case with norovirus.

'I've never heard of it on the West Coast -- period," she said.

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/03/03/news/newport_oyster_recall_growing_b08.txt

**Pathfinder** · March 4, 2010, 09:26 PM

Re: Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

Oregon health officials confirm people sickened by norovirus after eating Yaquina Bay oysters

By Lynne Terry, The Oregonian

March 04, 2010, 11:24AM

Oregon scientists have confirmed that three people who ate raw oysters harvested from Yaquina Bay were sicked by norovirus

The positive lab results follow reports of 16 people in Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts who got sick after eating the oysters, said Meredith Vandermeer, epidemiologist with the Public Health Division.

She said officials were only able to take specimens from four people. Results on the fourth case is pending.

The 16 people came from 10 households and ate the oysters in restaurants or bought them in stores. Most of them were sick a day or two and have recovered, Vandermeer said.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture, together with the Food and Drug Administration, is awaiting test results on the oysters themselves and the water in Yaquina Bay.

Officials closed the oyster beds after reports of illness trickled in. Oregon Oyster Farms, Inc., which harvests oysters from the bay has recalled its production from February.

A Portland-based distributor, OM Seafood Co., based in Portland, which also ordered a recall.

Dawn Smith, food safety specialist with the Department of Agriculture, said that all of the suspect in the U.S. have been pulled off the marketplace.

The FDA is check on a shipment that was sent to Taiwan.

oregonlive.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/03/oregon_health_officials_confir.html

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Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

Norovirus prompts recall of Yaquina Bay oysters sold in Oregon

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