While sushi grade seafood must be frozen in order to kill parasites, this freezing process will not eliminate bacteria and viruses.
The scallops are reported to have been sourced from the Philippines.
FDA Outbreak Investigation
FDA Investigates Outbreak of Hepatitis A Illnesses Linked to Raw Scallops
August 19, 2016
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local officials are investigating an outbreak of hepatitis A illnesses linked to raw scallops.
Fast Facts
The FDA and CDC are supporting the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) in an investigation of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infections linked to scallops supplied by Sea Port Products Corp. On August 17, 2016, Hawaii Department of Health reported that 206 people have been confirmed to have become ill with hepatitis A in that state.
On August 17, 2016, the FDA, Hawaii DOH, CDC and state partners informed Sea Port Products Corp that epidemiological, laboratory and traceback information indicates their scallops are the likely source of illnesses. On August 18, 2016, Sea Port Products Corp initiated a voluntary recall of frozen Bay Scallops produced on November 23, 2015 and 24, 2015. The products were distributed to California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The FDA is working with the recalling firm to ensure their recall is effective and that recalled product is removed from the market.
Restaurants and other retailers should not sell or serve the recalled Bay Scallops. The recalled products were not sold directly to consumers. FDA advises consumers not to eat the recalled Bay Scallops. Consumers should ask the restaurant or retailer where their scallops came from to make sure they do not eat recalled Bay Scallops from Sea Port Products Corp.
What is the Problem and What is Being Done About It?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are supporting the State of Hawaii in an investigation of hepatitis A illnesses linked to raw scallops.
According to the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), 206 people have been confirmed to have become ill with hepatitis A. Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 12, 2016 to August 9, 2016. All cases have been in adults and 51 have required hospitalization.
The FDA’s traceback investigation involved working with Hawaii DOH to trace the path of food eaten by those made ill back to a common source. The traceback investigation determined that Sea Port Products Corp imported the scallops that were later supplied to certain Genki Sushi locations in Hawaii, where ill people reported eating.
On August 17, 2016, FDA laboratory analysis of two scallop samples, which were collected on August 11, 2016, were confirmed positive for hepatitis A. These samples were imported by Sea Port Products Corp.
The FDA, CDC and state partners immediately informed Sea Port Products Corp that epidemiological, laboratory and traceback information indicates their scallops are the likely source of illnesses. On August 18, 2016, Sea Port Products Corp initiated a voluntary recall of frozen Bay Scallops produced on November 23, 2015 and 24, 2015. The products were distributed to California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The recalled products were not sold directly to consumers. The FDA is working with the recalling firm to ensure their recall is effective and that recalled product is removed from the market.
What is Hepatitis A?
Hepatitis A is a contagious liver disease that results from infection with the Hepatitis A virus (HAV). It can range in severity from a mild illness lasting a few weeks to a severe illness lasting several months. Hepatitis A is usually spread when a person ingests fecal matter — even in microscopic amounts — from contact with objects, food, or drinks contaminated by the feces of an infected person (fecal-oral route).
What are the Symptoms of Hepatitis A?
Illness occurs within 15 to 50 days of exposure and in adults includes fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, abnormal liver tests, dark urine and pale stool.
Who is at Risk?
Hepatitis A is a disease that originates in and is spread by people, rather than animals. It can occur when an infected food handler prepares food without appropriate hand hygiene. However, food (as is suspected in this outbreak) or water contaminated with HAV can cause outbreaks of disease.
In rare cases, particularly in patients with pre-existing severe illness or who are immunocompromised, HAV infection can progress to liver failure and death. People who have underlying liver conditions or pre-existing severe illness, or who are immunocompromised, should be vaccinated for HAV.
What Specific Products were Recalled?
On August 18, 2016, Sea Port Products Corp initiated a voluntary recall of frozen Bay Scallops produced on November 23, 2015 and 24, 2015. The products were distributed to California, Hawaii, and Nevada. The recalled products were not sold directly to consumers.
What Do Restaurants and Retailers Need To Do?
Retailers and other food service operators should not sell or serve the recalled products. These operations should also:
Wash and sanitize display cases and refrigerators where potentially contaminated products were stored.
Wash and sanitize cutting boards, surfaces, and utensils used to prepare, serve, or store potentially contaminated products.
Wash hands with hot water and soap following the cleaning and sanitation process.
Retailers, restaurants, and other food service operators who have processed and packaged any potentially contaminated products need to be concerned about cross contamination of cutting surfaces and utensils through contact with the potentially contaminated products.
What Do Consumers Need To Do?
Water, shellfish, and salads are the most frequent foodborne sources of hepatitis A. You can avoid Hepatitis A transmission from seafood by thoroughly cooking it. Hepatitis A can be transmitted from person to person. Consumers should always practice safe food handling and preparation measures. Wash hands, utensils, and surfaces with hot, soapy water before and after handling food. Consumers should thoroughly wash their hands after using the bathroom and changing diapers to help protect themselves from hepatitis A, as well as other foodborne diseases.
Consumers should ask the restaurant or retailer where their scallops came from to make sure they do not eat recalled Bay Scallops from Sea Port Products Corp.
The FDA has provided information on selecting and serving fresh and frozen seafood safely. Some people are at greater risk for foodborne illness and should not eat raw or partially cooked fish or shellfish. These susceptible groups include:
- Pregnant women
- Young children
- Older adults
- Persons whose immune systems are compromised
- Persons who have decreased stomach acidity
If you are unsure of your risk, ask your healthcare provider.
Who Should be Contacted?
Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have become ill from eating raw scallops.
Manila Bulletin
http://www.mb.com.ph/us-tests-confirm-hepatitis-a-in-scallops-imported-from-ph/
US tests confirm hepatitis A in scallops imported from PH
August 19, 2016
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By AP and Madeline B. Miraflor
Honolulu, Hawaii — United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests found Hepatitis A in scallops from the Philippines, which have been identified as the likely source of an outbreak of the virus in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Thursday the FDA laboratory test results of frozen Sea Port Bay Scallops. They are produced by De Oro Resources Inc. Messages left with the company’s main office in the Philippines were not immediately returned.
The scallops are imported by Sea Port Products Corp. in Washington state. An employee referred requests for comment to a spokeswoman, who did not immediately respond.
As this developed, the Philippine government said it will conduct its own investigation on the matter.
“I have ordered an investigation and will recommend independent laboratory tests,” Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a text message.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), for its part, said it will immediately review the sanitary health compliance measures of the De Oro Resources, pending the confirmatory test by the US health authorities whether the scallops from the Philippines indeed caused the hepatitis A outbreak.
The agency also maintained that all “fishery products for export undergo required complete microbial and other analysis before shipment for potential food safety hazards as may be required by the importing country”.
There is a Hawaii-wide embargo on the product, meaning businesses are not allowed to sell them and consumers are advised not to eat them, the health department said.
Health officials on Monday identified frozen scallops served raw at a sushi chain as the probable source of the outbreak. They ordered 11 Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai to close.
The popular restaurants, which serve sushi on conveyor belts, must dispose of their food supply and disposable items like cups and napkins and disinfect the facilities before they reopen.
“This laboratory confirmation is important validation of our investigation findings,” state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said in a statement Thursday.
“We are continuing efforts to end this outbreak by working to assure no other product is left in the state and to monitor for those who unfortunately may have been infected and do not yet have symptoms.”
The health department confirmed 206 cases of hepatitis A as of earlier this week. The disease can cause fever, loss of appetite, nausea and other ailments.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/us-tests-confirm-hepatitis-a-in-scallops-imported-from-ph/#2XTUDGMzRGWBwEL6.99
US tests confirm hepatitis A in scallops imported from PH
August 19, 2016
Share3 Tweet0 Share0 Email0 Share4
By AP and Madeline B. Miraflor
Honolulu, Hawaii — United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tests found Hepatitis A in scallops from the Philippines, which have been identified as the likely source of an outbreak of the virus in Hawaii.
The Hawaii Department of Health announced Thursday the FDA laboratory test results of frozen Sea Port Bay Scallops. They are produced by De Oro Resources Inc. Messages left with the company’s main office in the Philippines were not immediately returned.
The scallops are imported by Sea Port Products Corp. in Washington state. An employee referred requests for comment to a spokeswoman, who did not immediately respond.
As this developed, the Philippine government said it will conduct its own investigation on the matter.
“I have ordered an investigation and will recommend independent laboratory tests,” Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a text message.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), for its part, said it will immediately review the sanitary health compliance measures of the De Oro Resources, pending the confirmatory test by the US health authorities whether the scallops from the Philippines indeed caused the hepatitis A outbreak.
The agency also maintained that all “fishery products for export undergo required complete microbial and other analysis before shipment for potential food safety hazards as may be required by the importing country”.
There is a Hawaii-wide embargo on the product, meaning businesses are not allowed to sell them and consumers are advised not to eat them, the health department said.
Health officials on Monday identified frozen scallops served raw at a sushi chain as the probable source of the outbreak. They ordered 11 Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai to close.
The popular restaurants, which serve sushi on conveyor belts, must dispose of their food supply and disposable items like cups and napkins and disinfect the facilities before they reopen.
“This laboratory confirmation is important validation of our investigation findings,” state epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park said in a statement Thursday.
“We are continuing efforts to end this outbreak by working to assure no other product is left in the state and to monitor for those who unfortunately may have been infected and do not yet have symptoms.”
The health department confirmed 206 cases of hepatitis A as of earlier this week. The disease can cause fever, loss of appetite, nausea and other ailments.
Read more at http://www.mb.com.ph/us-tests-confirm-hepatitis-a-in-scallops-imported-from-ph/#2XTUDGMzRGWBwEL6.99
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