The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) Food Safety Centre said yesterday that the import and sale of raw oysters from the Huitres Geay farm in France have been suspended, after three food-poisoning cases involving the consumption of its oysters at three restaurants in Hong Kong were reported on Friday.
According to the statement, “for the sake of prudence”, the bureau decided to order the local food sector to suspend the sale of such oysters, urging the public not to consume the molluscs.
Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety (CFS) said in a statement on Friday that as oysters feed by filtering a large volume of seawater, pathogens, chemical contaminants or natural toxins can accumulate in them if they are grown in or harvested from contaminated water.
“Regardless of the season or the region in which the oysters are harvested, consuming oysters, particularly raw or partially cooked ones, carries an inherent food safety risk,” the CFS statement said, adding that susceptible groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver disease, should avoid eating raw oysters.
