Sea Port Products Corp., has voluntarily recalled of a batch of scallops after about 206 people were confirmed to have become ill with hepatitis A.
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“I am deeply troubled at the thought that anyone may have become ill from eating product that we shipped”, Sea Port owner Bill Dresser said in a statement.
The US Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) in its investigation.
The scallops were not sold in stores, and the Hawaiian Department of Health says the scallops served at Genki Sushi restaurants on Oahu and Kauai are likely the source of an ongoing outbreak there.
The results of the investigation concluded that scallops imported by Sea Port Products Crop and supplied by Genki Sushi restaurant locations in Hawaii (on Oahu and Kauai), were at the root of the outbreak.
The scallops are produced by De Oro Resources Inc., in Suba Basbas, Philippines, and imported by Sea Port Products Corp.in Washington state.
As with any question about food safety, the FDA has an information line: 1-888-SAFEFOOD. The disease can cause fever, loss of appetite, nausea and other ailments.
Besides getting vaccinated, simple acts of good hygiene, such as washing one’s hands with soap and water after using the restroom, can be effective in preventing the spread of the disease.
Unlike hepatitis B and C, hepatitis A infection does not cause chronic liver disease and is rarely fatal, but it can cause debilitating symptoms and acute liver failure, which is often fatal.
Those who are at a greater risk for foodborne illness (pregnant women, older adults, young children, individuals with compromised immune systems, and individuals with decreased stomach acidity), are advised not to eat any raw or partially cooked fish or shellfish. All the cases involve adults.
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Within 15 to 50 days of exposure to Hepatitis A virus, an infected person may suffer from symptoms including fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice and pale stool. This is, however, followed by recovery.
