State health officials have issued a warning against eating sport harvested mussels, clams, or whole scallops found on the Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County coastlines. Dangerous levels of naturally occurring toxins have been found in mussels, prompting the warning. If eaten, the toxins could potentially cause serious illness, or death.
The new warning comes on top of the annual mussel quarantine which went into effect May 1st.
The warning about PSP toxins doesn’t apply to commercially sold clams, mussels, scallops, or oysters. Commercially sold shellfish undergoes regular safety testing.
