Frozen mussels pulled from sale over illness link

Two batches of frozen cooked mussels have had to be withdrawn from supermarket sale after they were linked to reports of illnesses, including diarrhoea.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) yesterday said anybody who may have bought the implicated batches should not eat them and should throw them out.

The affected batches are from Shellfish De La Mer Ltd, a fish processing company which is based in Castletownbere, and are Cooked Mussel Meats (frozen), pack size 500g, with batch code 72774/13286, best before April 2015, and batch code 72774/13349, with a best before date of June 2015.

The safety authority said the implicated mussel meats had been on sale in some Dunnes Stores and Tesco outlets throughout the country and these retailers had confirmed that the affected product had been removed from sale.

The FSAI also said a “small number” of people had been sick and that because of the long shelf life of the products it was important to alert consumers so they could check their freezers and ensure the product is not eaten.

The chief executive of the FSAI, Alan Reilly, said that any consumers who had consumed the affected product should seek medical advice.

“Consumers who have affected product in their freezer are advised to dispose of it or alternatively return it to the store they purchased it from,” said Prof O’Reilly.

“We are strongly advising consumers not to eat the affected product. Eating contaminated mussels could cause diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.

“Symptoms are diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain which can start between 30 minutes to a few hours after ingestion. Complete recovery occurs within a number of days.”

Richard Murphy of Shellfish De La Mer said the company was co-operating fully with the FSAI on what he said was “an isolated incident”.

“It is only two batches and it is all under control,” he said, adding that the company was happy with the FSAI action.

Mr Murphy also said there was no connection between the affected batches of mussels and the company being served with a prohibition order in January last.

The FSAI had issued notification last month that the prohibition order had been served on Shellfish De La Mer on January 30 and was made in relation to one batch of scallops.

A spokesperson for the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority said the issue regarding the single batch of scallops had arisen during a routine programme of surveillance.