A public health warning advising against collecting shellfish on the east coast of the North Island due to high levels of paralytic toxins has been lifted, but a warning for lobsters caught in the Gisborne region remains.
New Zealand Food Safety first issued the warning on October 12 last year after routine testing revealed that biotoxin levels were up to 12 times above the safe limit in some areas.
Deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said that shellfish testing has established that "concerning" levels of paralytic toxins have dropped to safe limits again.
"However, lobster samples from near Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay taken by the Rock Lobster Industry Council are still coming back over the limit."
Paralytic toxins can accumulate in the gut and intestine of lobster, but not the tail and leg meat. Commercially available lobster for sale at supermarkets and retail outlets is not affected.
Arbuckle said that advice is to not eat the gut contents of lobster caught between Hicks Bay and Mahanga Beach, and that the guts should be removed before cooking.
"The toxins can spread into the flesh during the cooking process."
Arbuckle added that it was "great news that people on the east coast will again be able to gather and enjoy most kaimoana safely".
"Public health warnings are an important mechanism in our food safety system here in Aotearoa — it's how we spread the word about toxins in shellfish to help prevent people getting sick.
"Thankfully we received no notification of associated illness."
Paralytic shellfish poisoning can cause numbness and a tingling (prickly feeling) around the mouth, face, hands, and feet, difficulty swallowing or breathing, dizziness and headache, nausea and vomiting, diarrhoea, paralysis, and respiratory failure and, in severe cases, death.
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