New Zealand Food Safety is advising the public not to collect or consume shellfish gathered from the inner Queen Charlotte Sound, as well as near Collingwood in Golden Bay, due to the presence of high levels of paralytic shellfish toxins.
Routine tests on mussels from near Waikawa have shown levels of paralytic shellfish toxins 3 times higher than the safe limit. The warning extends from Anakiwa, out to West Head and Dieffenbach Point.
In addition to the Queen Charlotte Sound warning, the levels of paralytic shellfish toxins in mussels farmed near Collingwood have risen in recent weeks and are nearly at the safe limit. Commercial harvesting from the mussel farms have stopped and the public are warned that shellfish gathered from the shore could also have elevated levels of toxins.
FoodWorld 