Salmonella prompts recall of P.E.I. oysters

Five Star Shellfish brand oysters, produced on P.E.I. and distributed mostly in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, have been recalled due to possible salmonella contamination.

The recall includes 100 count boxes of large standard oysters and 100 count boxes of mixed oysters. The shellfish have a harvest date of Aug. 13 from location PEI 1Q.

While the recall focuses on three provinces, it's possible the oysters could have been purchased anywhere in Canada.

Five Star Shellfish office manager Wanda Gaudet said the company decided not to ship any oysters on Tuesday as a precaution, even though only oysters from one area were affected.

Gaudet said the recall was triggered after the CFIA made a site visit last week and found higher than acceptable levels of salmonella in some oysters in one lease area.

It's not clear where the salmonella is coming from, she said, but there are a lot of birds and bird droppings in the area.

Five Star is moving all the oysters from that lease to another area to let the shellfish clean themselves out over two weeks before they're harvested.

Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased. There are no reported illnesses from the oysters.