Florida food distributors received oysters that might have norovirus. Here’s a list
The distribution list of Connecticut oysters recalled in several states because they might carry norovirus includes three Miami-Fort Lauderdale food distributors and one Orlando food distributor.
Food distributors sometimes sell to individual customers, but do business mostly with restaurants and retail food sellers. Before you buy oysters, whether retail or wholesale, you should ask their origin.
Here’s what to know about norovirus, oysters and who received them.
What oysters got recalled and where did they go?
Norm Bloom and Son oysters, lot No. 207, harvested in Westport, Connecticut, on Feb. 20, 2024. Most recalls are done by the manufacturing company, but this one was ordered by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Aquaculture.
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The FDA said the oysters went to restaurants and retailers in Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Rhode Island and possibly other states.
But the updated distribution list from the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference includes Massachusetts’ Pangea; Cape Cod; Boston Sword; Maryalnd’s Harris Seafood Co. and Crab Addicts; Maine’s Atlantic Aqua Farms; Rhode Island’s American Mussel Harvesters; and four places in Florida:
▪ Allen Brothers Seafood, 5559 NW 145th St., North Miami-Dade
▪ Halpern’s Steak and Seafood, 1919 NW 19th St., Fort Lauderdale
▪ Halpern’s Steak and Gary Seafood, 2412 Sand Lake Rd., Orlando
▪ Q Plus Foods, 3632 NW 16th St., Lauderhill
The FDA advises restaurants to refrain from serving these oysters, and individuals to refrain from buying them.
What’s the oysters’ connection to norovirus?
Oysters from the recalled lot were “associated with a norovirus outbreak in Minnesota.”
Norovirus infection usually brings symptoms within 12 to 48 hours and lasts one to three days. Vomiting and diarrhea are common, sometimes causing dehydration.
The three norovirus outbreaks listed as current by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention each have to do with oysters.
