Recently, suspected cases of collective food poisoning caused by eating oysters have occurred in many places in France. Affected by this, France has issued bans on the fishing and sale of oysters in many oyster producing areas in recent days. Currently, it is the peak sales season for oysters and other shellfish in France, because this is a must-have dish on the tables of many French people during the year-end holidays.
However, many places in France have recently issued bans on the fishing and sale of oysters due to a number of suspected cases of collective food poisoning caused by eating oysters.
On December 30, 2023 local time, the northern French coastal province of Manche announced a temporary ban on the fishing and sale of shellfish for human consumption in the Saint-Vast-Laogue area of the province because norovirus, which causes severe acute gastroenteritis, was found in oysters in the area. Previously, due to the same reason, Calvados in the Normandy region and Arcachon Bay in Gironde, France's largest oyster producer, had temporarily suspended the sale of locally farmed oysters on the 29th and 28th respectively.
On the 30th, at a seafood market in Nogent-sur-Marne, a suburb of Paris, oyster sellers said that their business had been affected by the ban.