Spring Bay Seafood's shellfish farm in Tasmania has been closed and Food Standards Australia New Zealand is now recalling its mussels, which could contain a paralytic shellfish toxin.
The toxin has arisen from a naturally-occurring algal bloom and recalled products include Spring Bay live blue mussels (use-by-dates between 22 October 2012 and 10 November 2012) and Coles Cooked Tasmanian mussels (use-by-date 12 November 2012), which have been distributed to Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, ACT, South Australia, Queensland and some Asian countries.
The affected mussels were supplied in shell and in the quantities of 500g and 1kg vacuumed packed bags (Spring Bay Seafood), 500g (Coles branded – the tomato and herb-based sauce and cream white wine sauce varieties) and 1kg and 2kg net bags (Spring Bay Seafood). They may also be supplied loose in shell per kg.
No cases of illness linked to the recalled products have been reported, by FSANZ chief executive officer, Steve McCutcheon, said consumers should still take care and check the brand of mussels in their fridge and if it matches the brand and dates of those recalled, dispose of them or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.
It comes as another aquaculture company, Shellfish Culture Tasmania, received a $135 000 grant from the Tasmanian Government Innovation and Investment Fund to help install new grading and hatchery equipment.
The project is part of the company’s $3 million expansion of an oyster spat at Clifton Beach, and satellite operations at Bicheno.