California public health officials have imposed an annual quarantine on sport-harvested mussels from Oregon to the Mexican border, citing potential toxin accumulation due to seasonal algal blooms. This order runs through October 31 and addresses the risk of paralytic shellfish poisoning and amnesic shellfish poisoning. Algal blooms lead to increased toxic phytoplankton levels, which are consumed by shellfish, resulting in biotoxin accumulation. Shellfish may remain unsafe to eat for varying periods, with no visible signs of toxicity and cooking not reliably eliminating the threat.
The quarantine on mussels in California, mandatory through October 31, highlights the risk of harmful toxins that make these shellfish potentially poisonous to humans.
The emergence of biotoxins in mussels this season is tied to algal blooms, which lead to rapid increases of toxins correlated with shellfish consumption.
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