The collection and sale of mussels, oysters and clams from the Etang de Thau are prohibited indefinitely, due to contamination with norovirus, responsible for gastroenteritis, the prefecture of Herault.
“After several declared cases of collective food poisoning from the consumption of oysters from the Thau pond, shellfish tests have shown the presence of norovirus,” the prefecture explained in a press release on New Year’s Eve.
An episode of “heavy” rain on December 15
She believes the contamination may have occurred during a “particularly heavy” rainy episode on December 15. Shellfish collected after this date in the approximately 7,000-hectare basin near Sète cannot therefore be marketed.
The measure will be lifted “as soon as the health security conditions are met for the reopening of the production areas,” the prefecture specified.
People who have already bought clams, oysters or mussels collected during this period at the Thau pond are invited to return them to the point of sale and not eat them.
10% of the national production of oysters
Norovirus is a “very resistant” virus that is responsible for most cases of acute gastroenteritis, according to the National Food Safety Agency (Anses). Symptoms usually appear within six to 48 hours of consumption.
This is the third such ban this year in the pond, which is the largest shellfish area in the Mediterranean, with 10% of the national oyster production and some 3,000 jobs.
In January and then between the end of October and the beginning of December, the commercialization of several species of molluscs was prohibited due to the presence of toxins. However, the oysters had been saved.
Source: BFM TV
