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By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Department of Public Health and Social Services today raised the alarm against the contaminated mahi-mahi from Ecuador and Taiwan, which was found in local restaurants' menus.
The department's Division of Environmental Health issued a public advisory against the consumption of the banned fish following an Aug. 6 report of a person diagnosed with scombroid poisoning after eating mahi-mahi at a local dining establishment.
The report prompted an investigation, which found that the implicated mahi-mahi was distributed by Luen Fung Enterprises to more than a dozen food facilities throughout the island.
Officials said the department has not received other local reports of injuries or illnesses associated with the product.
"Corrective actions were immediately taken by the local distributor to remove the affected products from shelves for return to the manufacturer," the department said.
"The DPHSS continues to conduct its investigation and will update the public as more information is obtained," it added.
Mahi-mahi, also known as common dolphinfish, is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide.
"These products have the potential to be spoiled and possibly have histamine, which can cause scombroid poisoning," officials said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, scombroid poisoning is caused by improperly refrigerated fish, such as tuna, mackerel, mahi-mahi (dolphin fish), sardines, anchovies, herring, bluefish, amberjack and marlin.
Symptoms usually develop within a few minutes to an hour after eating contaminated fish and can vary in severity from mild allergic reaction, typically flushing of the face and trunk, to more severe reaction including itching, heart palpitations, blurred vision, and diarrhea.
Through DPHSS’ partnership agreement and collaboration with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it was determined the manufacturer Yian Ling Corp. (Taiwan), is part of the import alert issued by the FDA on April 16 due to histamine and spoilage of the implicated mahi-mahi.
DPHSS reminds the public to prevent scombroid poisoning by only eating fish that has been properly stored.
Officials warned that cooking, smoking, or freezing the fish do not prevent scombroid. "Contaminated fish usually look and taste normal, but may taste peppery, sharp, salty, or metallic," they added.
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