'Be careful in eating shellfish'

MANILA, Philippines - Eating tahong (mussel) and other shellfish products this Holy Week may not be the right thing to do.

Health authorities yesterday advised the public to be extra careful and if possible avoid eating shellfish gathered from six areas in the country.

The Department of Health (DOH) said six coastal areas were found to be positive for paralytic shellfish poison or red tide.

These areas are Dumaguillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur; Murclelagos in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental; Masinloc Bay in Zambales; the coastal waters of Bataan; Matarinao in Eastern Samar; and the coastal waters of Bolinao and Alaminos towns in Pangasinan.

Results of tests conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) showed that shellfish products gathered from these areas contained red tide microorganisms.

Health experts said fish, squids, crabs and other seafood though are safe to eat as long as they are fresh and cooked properly.

In Bataan, the BFAR has rejected the appeal of local officials and shellfish raisers, gatherers and vendors to lift the red tide alert in Balanga City and seven other Bataan towns amid the expected increase in demand for shellfish this Holy Week.

“Some residents have claimed they ate shellfish recently without anyone of them getting sick, but our laboratory findings show that red tide toxin in samples of shellfish meat was at 258 micrograms per 100 grams,” June Coloma of the BFAR regional office in San Fernando, Pampanga. The tolerable limit for red tide elements is only 60 micrograms per 100 grams of shellfish meat.

“The ban on shellfish harvesting and selling remains in effect in Balanga, Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Abucay, Samal and Orani,” Coloma said.

– Mayen Jaymalin, Ding Cervantes