Shellfish from Sabah's Kuala Penyu declared unsafe, says Junz Wong

KOTA KINABALU: Shellfish, including clams, oysters and snails, are not safe for consumption for the time being, due to toxic algae blooming or red tide in waters of Kuala Penyu.

Sabah Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Junz Wong said this is based on forensics findings conducted by the Fisheries Department recently.

He said paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) on the samples found were as high as 414 meretrix sp. per 100g of meat, while the normal level should be below 80 meretrix sp. per 100g of meat.

“PSP toxins are scentless, colourless, cannot be felt or seen with the naked eye, ” he said, adding these toxins cannot be destroyed by freezing, cooking or washing.

Wong said other types of seafood such as fish, prawns, crabs and squids are safe for eating, but they have to be washed and cooked thoroughly with the innards cleaned out.

Anyone poisoned by this toxin will first feel throbbing in their lips and tongues for their first 30 minutes, and the symptoms will move on to a feeling of being poked by needles and pins on the skin.

After that, a victim will start feeling "high" or nauseous, followed by loss of control over their limbs and have trouble breathing.

In the worst-case scenarios, Wong said a person could even die between two to 24 hours of being poisoned.

Victims are urged to immediately seek medical attention if they have the first signs of being poisoned.

In other matters, he said recent viral photos of dead fish taken from the Nagalang beach in Labuan, are not likely due to paralytic shellfish poisoning as claimed by many.

“The waters and samples taken from Labuan found that the PSP level is low and there is no red tide phenomenon there, ” Wong said.

He said samples including of the dead fish have been obtained to find out the cause of death.