FDA test results have identified raw scallops imported from the Philippines as the likely source of more than 200 Hepatitis A infections in Hawaii.
Working with the CDC and Hawaii health officials, FDA announced its investigation into the outbreak led officials to believe raw, frozen scallops imported by Sea Port Products Corp and supplied to certain Genki Sushi locations in Hawaii are the likely source of the illnesses.
According to the Hawaii Department of Health, 206 people have been confirmed to have become ill with hepatitis A. Illnesses started on dates ranging from June 12, 2016 to August 9, 2016. All cases have been in adults and 51 have required hospitalization.
“I am deeply troubled at the thought that anyone may have become ill from eating product that we shipped,” Sea Port owner Bill Dresser said in a statement to the Associated Press. “I am also fully committed to trying to find out how this may have happened and to work to prevent it from happening again not only to Sea Port, but to the entire seafood community.”
Hawaii health officials have ordered an embargo on the product and temporarily closed Genki Sushi restaurants in Oahu and Kauai.
As a result of the outbreak, Sea Port Products Corp initiated a voluntary recall of frozen Bay Scallops produced on November 23, 2015 and 24, 2015. The products were distributed to California, Hawaii, and Nevada. According to Sea Port Products Corp, the recalled products are not intended for retail sale.
The investigation remains ongoing.