Mussels Quarantined Due to Health Risk
Do not eat mussels unless they have been professionally harvested, state and county environmental health officials warn.
The annual quarantine went into effect this month and continues until Oct. 31, said Robert Williamson of the Ventura County Environmental Health Division.
Williamson warned that mussels collected by amateurs may contain hazardous levels of a naturally occurring toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, a sometimes fatal disease that affects the central nervous system.
The quarantine applies to mussels along the entire California coast.
Williamson also warned that people eating recreationally harvested clams or scallops should eat only the white meat, discarding the dark-colored organs.
Commercially harvested shellfish are subject to stringent inspections and are not included in the quarantine, Williamson said.
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