NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The FDA warned some oysters harvested in Connecticut—and sold to restaurants and retailers in that state and New York—may be contaminated with sewage and shouldn't be served, sold or eaten by anyone.
The recalled oysters were harvested from an approved harvest area in Groton between Aug. 28 and Aug. 30.
Consumers, restaurants and food retailers in five states are impacted by the recall: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia. The oysters may have been distributed to additional states, according to the FDA.
Last week, the Connecticut's Bureau of Aquaculture initiated an emergency closure of two Groton approved harvest areas after samples showed the oysters may be tainted with sewage containing the pathogens E. coli or Salmonella.
Consuming contaminated oysters could cause a host of symptoms associated with food poisoning, including diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach cramps. The symptoms may take several days to develop.
All impacted commercial harvesters agreed to voluntarily recall products harvested in the area, the FDA said. They include Lockwood and Winant Seafood, Montauk Seafood, and Bronx Fish in New York, as well as CT Shellfish, Gulf Shrimp, Cityline, and Seawell in Connecticut.
The FDA hasn't reported any illnesses connected to the recall. The agency said it's awaiting further information on the distribution of the oysters. In the meantime, the harvest areas will remain closed until the source of the contamination is identified and corrected, officials said.
More info is available on the recall page at FDA.gov.
The recall isn't connected to the rare "flesh eating" bacteria vibrio vulnificus, which is found in raw shellfish and was linked in August to one death on Long Island and two deaths in Connecticut. The Connecticut victims had swum in the Long Island Sound, while officials are investigating where the Suffolk County victim encountered the bacteria.