On May 1, the Food and Drug Administration removed all Korean certified shippers of molluscan shellfish—including oysters, clams, mussels and scallops—from the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (ICSSL). It was determined that the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program (KSSP) no longer meets the sanitation controls spelled out under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program. FDA’s evaluation of the KSSP found significant shellfish growing area deficiencies including:

• ineffective management of land-based pollution sources that can impact shellfish growing areas,
• inadequate sanitary controls to prevent the discharge of human fecal waste from fish farms and commercial fishing and aquaculture vessels operating in and adjacent to shellfish growing areas,
• detection of norovirus in shellfish growing areas analyzed by FDA during the evaluation.

Because of inadequate sanitation controls, the molluscan shellfish harvested from Korean waters may have been exposed to human fecal waste and have the potential to be contaminated with norovirus. Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause gastroenteritis. Symptoms of illness associated with norovirus include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach cramping. Affected individuals often experience low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and a general sense of tiredness. Most people show symptoms within 48 hours of exposure to the virus. The illness typically lasts one to two days. Norovirus is usually not life-threatening and does not generally cause long-term effects. No U.S. illnesses from the consumption of Korean shellfish have been reported in 2012.