A report published in Hawaii News Now informed, “Hawaii authorities are urging diners to be aware of the risks of eating raw and undercooked food after they traced a hepatitis A outbreak to frozen scallops served raw at a sushi restaurant chain”.
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Neither Genki Sushi nor Koha Food responded to Civil Beat’s request for comment. The disease can cause fever, loss of appetite, nausea and other ailments.
Health Department officials ordered an embargo of all frozen scallop products distributed by Koha Oriental Foods and True World Foods in Hawaii.
“All dangers associated with the contaminated scallops were reasonably foreseeable and/or scientifically discoverable by the defendants at the time the defendants placed the scallops into the stream of commerce”, the lawsuit says.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman Lauren Sucher said the agency is working to confirm the source. Hepatitis A is spread through contaminated food or drink, or by close personal contact with a carrier.
Findings of the investigation suggest that the source of the outbreak is focused on Oahu.
The company immediately complied with the department’s order, said Mary Hansen, Genki Sushi USA chief administrative officer.
“We will continue to work with the Department of Health to ensure that we are compliant so that we can open our restaurants as soon as possible”.
The imported frozen scallops, chopped and served raw with mayonnaise atop a rice ball wrapped with dried seaweed, were among sushi items offered on conveyor belts to customers.
Officials confirmed 38 new cases of hepatitis A on Wednesday, bringing the total sickened by the virus in Hawaii to 206.
Vaccination provides the best protection from hepatitis A, so any person who consumed food or beverage products prepared or served at this business during the identified periods may want to contact their healthcare providers about receiving a vaccine or immune globulin (IG).
A notice from Hawaii’s health department identified the cause on Tuesday and ordered the closure of all Genki Sushi restaurants, of which there are 10 on Oahu and one on Kauai. She said Health Department officials didn’t get a response like that for any other restaurant, food chain or grocery store.
Park said the department is concerned the scallops may have been served or distributed to places other than Genki Sushi because a small number of patients say they didn’t eat at the chain.
There are two Genki Sushi locations on Maui, though the Maui Mall location has been closed since July while undergoing renovations.
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Mauk’s lawsuit – filed by Marler Clark, a Seattle-based law firm specializing in food safety, and a Honolulu-based Ogawa, Lau, Nakamura and Jew – is seeking damages for an unspecified amount. The department said Koha Oriental Foods supplied the scallops to the Oahu and Kauai restaurants.
