COUNTYWIDE : Health Warning for Shellfish Buyers

Starting Wednesday, mollusk-lovers are advised to be more careful about buying clams, scallops, oysters and mussels directly from local docks.

As part of an annual quarantine, state and local health officials are asking citizens to avoid eating mollusks caught for sport or for direct sale in local waters from May 1 to Oct. 31.

During the spring and summer months, the shellfish absorb a potentially deadly poison from plankton, said Larry Honeybourne, a county environmental health specialist. Since 1927, 510 cases of paralytic shellfish poisoning, resulting in 32 deaths, have been reported in the state.

“It can be deadly to eat them,” Honeybourne said. “I would advise anybody not to buy from a local (mollusk) harvester during this time.”

Honeybourne emphasized that shellfish bought in stores and restaurants are considered safe. Commercially bought shellfish are harvested from waters that are approved and monitored by federal health officials.

Health officials warn that all dark portions of mollusks should be removed before eating. Cooking does not destroy the toxin, which is heat-stable, they said.

Honeybourne said the health hazard increases when conditions change the ocean current and sea temperature, causing the plankton to manufacture the toxin, which is gradually absorbed into the mollusks.

State health officials also warn that mussels are particularly dangerous because they develop high levels of toxin more quickly than other shellfish.

“They are immune” to the toxin, Honeybourne said, “but unfortunately, humans aren’t.”