Health officials are investigating a possible norovirus outbreak after dozens of people became ill after eating raw oysters at the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants event.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed that more than 80 people who attended the annual event – which includes popular and famous restaurants – reported illness with symptoms including diarrhea, nausea, stomach pains and vomiting.
These illnesses appear to be related to raw oysters that were served at the event on December 3, which have since been returned, according to a public health spokesperson.
A number of illnesses reported at the event came just days before the California Department of Public Health issued a December 13 advisory regarding oysters. The US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning to restaurants and retailers not to sell oysters due to possible norovirus contamination. The warning affected restaurants and shops in many states.
The oysters were provided by Fanny Bay Oysters, according to Hillary Manning, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Times. The oysters were taken by Santa Monica Seafood, which sponsored the event, and served to one of the restaurants on the 101 Best Restaurants list, Manning said.
News of the possible outbreak was first reported by LA Taco.
As with previous events hosted by the Los Angeles Times, Manning said all safety procedures were followed at this event.
“We have produced cooking events for many years and take food safety seriously,” he wrote in an email. “As with each of our events, we had regulations in place and, based on an inspection from the LA County Department of Public Health, we were complying with all appropriate safety standards. We also know how to care for each chef and restaurant that we take in preparing and serving food to our community.”
Without direct testing, there is no way for a retailer or restaurant to detect norovirus because it does not affect the taste, smell or appearance of oysters.
The Los Angeles Times first learned that some people from the event fell ill on December 11. Company officials, who did not know the cause, referred the people to the LA County Department of Public Health. On December 12, the public health department contacted The Times newspaper about a group of people who reported being sick.
There are people who attended the event who reported that they did not see any kind of notice or warning from the Los Angeles County Public Health Department.
Jamie Clegg, who bought two tickets for the event, said he never saw the notification in his email.
“I didn't get anything, unless it was spam,” he said.
She went to the event with a friend who was employed by the LA Times, she said, and that person received an email from county health officials informing them about the sick group and asking them to answer a list of anonymous questions.
The oysters used on Dec. 3 were part of a batch of Fanny Bay Select and Fanny Bay XS oysters from Pacific Northwest Shellfish Co., which were stocked on Nov. 25, said the public health spokesman in the region.
The outbreak of the disease is still under investigation.
An infected person can have symptoms for 12 to 48 hours, according to the FDA.
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