A few days before the holidays, the sale of certain oysters from the Loire-Atlantique is prohibited. According to France Bleu Loire Océan, the prefecture of the department made this decision after food poisoning affected about forty people last Saturday, December 9.
That day, during a meal organized in Saint-Barbe for firefighters, oysters from Bourgneuf Bay were served. The guests, including twenty firefighters, did not digest the seafood well.
They had a “stomach ache”, as explained by Matthieu Mairesse, general auditor of the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (Sdis) of Vendée. Some people have experienced pain that required medical tests in the hospital.
An investigation opened by the ARS
After this incident, the health authorities were alerted and, after an investigation by the Vendée Regional Health Agency (ARS), the contamination of the oysters was confirmed.
The ban by prefectural decree was immediately adopted due to the presence of “novovirus”. It is generally about “human consumption of shellfish” from this bay.
This decision, a few days before Christmas, provokes the anger of oyster farmers. They decided to show their discontent by throwing shellfish in front of the town halls of the cities of Pornic and Moutiers.
“Orders are placed, staff are hired… Now we only have to put the oysters back in the water and buy products from other areas, otherwise we will have to close the door!”, one of them laments to France. 3.
Source: BFM TV
