FDA warns consumers, food service operators, and retailers to avoid oysters recently harvested from Mississippi Area 2C

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is advising retailers and food service operators not to offer for sale oysters harvested between Feb. 24 and March 17, 2009, from Mississippi Area 2C, located in the Mississippi Sound portion of the Gulf of Mexico near Pass Christian, Miss. Further, consumers are advised not to eat such oysters. Consumers who are uncertain about the origin of oysters they currently have should contact the place of purchase to determine if the oysters are from the affected area as the Agency investigates an outbreak of norovirus illnesses associated with the oysters. Norovirus is a foodborne pathogen that can cause acute gastroenteritis in humans.

Eleven individuals reported becoming sick after eating raw oysters at a restaurant in Chattanooga, Tenn. Test results by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department and Tennessee Department of Health confirmed that the patients were infected with norovirus.