Gironde: oysters from the Arcachon basin banned for sale after poisoning

2023-12-28 01:10:35

This is a hard blow for oyster farmers a few days before the New Year. The sale of oysters from the Arcachon basin was banned until further notice on Wednesday by the prefect of Gironde, after several cases of food poisoning collectives were detected.

Étienne Guyot took the decision “to temporarily prohibit fishing, harvesting and marketing activities intended for human consumption of shellfish from the Arcachon basin, including the Banc d’Arguin”, the prefecture indicated on Wednesday in a statement.

Following several cases of collective food poisoning, temporary ban on fishing, harvesting and marketing of shellfish from the Basin for human consumption#Arcachonincluding the Banc d’Arguin.

Find out ➕: pic.twitter.com/PMeQ5renMs

— Prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) December 27, 2023

Oysters harvested or fished in these areas must be withdrawn from sale, orders the prefecture. She also asks people who have these oysters not to consume them and to return them to the point of sale.

No serious cases

Several cases of collective foodborne illness have been reported in recent days. “Traceability investigations are underway but several reports indicate that oysters from the Arcachon basin are involved,” reveals the prefecture, which adds that analyzes have revealed the presence of norovirus on farmed oysters. in the Arcachon basin. “The symptoms are those of acute gastroenteritis and no serious cases have been reported to date,” the press release specifies.

Oyster farmers in the Arcachon basin reacted on Wednesday, ensuring in a press release that “the health and safety of their consumers remain the profession’s absolute priority”. They say they are “victims of the saturation of wastewater and rainwater networks, causing overflows into the natural environment and thus contaminating production areas”.

Professionals now fear “an unprecedented economic crisis”, “two months after the storms which massacred several hectares of oyster farms on the Banc d’Arguin”.