 September 11, 2002
DEC repeated its regular warning that clams and mussels from untested beaches can be dangerous any time of the year. The group of cannery workers gathered mussels on September 2nd and ate them that evening, according to Mike Ostasz, environmental health officer with DEC. "They had a variety of responses, but some people reacted within minutes with the classic symptoms, numbness of the face and lips. One person was treated at Juneau's Bartlett Memorial hospital." Reports of the high levels of toxin in mussels were released today. DEC sampled and tested mussels from the same beach and found levels at 6 and 7 thousand micrograms per 100 grams of tissue. The PSP standard is 80 micrograms/100 grams of tissue. The DEC warning does not apply to commercially grown and harvested clams, mussels, other shellfish, crab, or shrimp available in grocery stores and restaurants. These shellfish are tested regularly before marketing. "The safest thing is to buy your shellfish from retail outlets, because their supplies must come from tested beaches and are also randomly sampled for PSP at our Seafood and Food Safety Laboratory," Ostasz said. PSP strikes a few people in Alaska nearly every year after collecting and eating shellfish from beaches in different parts of the state. PSP occurs widely in Alaska, and is a potentially lethal toxin which can lead to fatal respiratory paralysis. The toxin comes from algae, a food source for shellfish like clams, mussels and crabs. Symptoms of PSP may appear soon after ingestion, perhaps in less than an hour. Initial symptoms commonly are tingling or numbness in the lips and tongue, often followed by tingling and numbness in the fingertips and toes. These symptoms may lead to a loss of muscle coordination. The toxin also has been found in the viscera of Dungeness crab, Red King crab, and Tanner Bairdi crab in recent years. Commercially harvested crab are monitored throughout the season, and only when PSP levels are in the safe range can crab be sold live or whole with viscera intact. For more information, contact Mike Ostasz, Division of Environmental Health, Anchorage, (907) 269-7638.
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