Mussels in Te Kaha were found to have high levels of biotoxins. (File photo) Photo: Suppled/Kura Paul-Burke
NZ Food Safety is warning people not to eat shellfish from eastern Bay of Plenty due to high levels of biotoxins.
Tests on mussels from Te Kaha have shown the level of paralytic toxins are more than double the safe limit.
"The warning extends from Opape near Ōpōtiki, to East Cape," Food Safety's deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said.
"Please do not gather and eat shellfish from this area because anyone doing so could get sick... Cooking the shellfish does not remove the toxin, so shellfish from this area should not be eaten."
He said the toxin appeared to originate from algal bloom.
"We are monitoring an algal bloom in the Bay of Plenty region, which appears to be spreading," he said.
"This type of algae produces a dangerous toxin and, when shellfish filter-feed, these toxins can accumulate in their gut and flesh. Generally, the more algae there are in the water, the more toxic the shellfish get."
Symptoms of paralytic shellfish poisoning included numbness, dizziness, nausea, diarrhoea, difficulty swallowing or breathing and in severe cases death.
NZ Food Safety said pāua, crab and crayfish could still be eaten but only if the gut has been completely removed before cooking.
If the gut isn't removed, it says the contents could contaminated the meat.
"NZFS is monitoring shellfish in the region and will notify the public of any changes to the situation," Arbuckle said.
He noted commercially harvested shellfish in supermarkets were subject to strict water and flesh monitoring programmes to make sure they were safe to eat.
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