The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded on an earlier recall announcement after the Washington State Department of Health (WSDH) and the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) confirmed a norovirus outbreak in oysters and manila clams earlier this month, as reported by Undercurrent News.

The latest advisory from the FDA was posted on Friday (Dec. 27) and is directed towards restaurants and food retailers in the US state of California that may have purchased Taylor Shellfish Canada brands. The full list of products can be found here, but brands include Fanny Bay, Sunseeker and Cloudy Bay oysters that were harvested from the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC).

A recall for certain Taylor Shellfish Canada oysters was also issued by the Canadian government. That notice simply states that the products may have possible norovirus contamination, which can cause serious gastrointestinal illness. 

That was not the only recall to be issued last week. ISSC issued a notice on Friday that the WSDH was in the process of conducting a recall of shellstock related to a norovirus outbreak.

Per the notice, the shellstock oysters were harvested by Ruco's Shellfish of Shelton, Washington, between Dec. 2 and Dec. 17. The oysters being recalled were from a portion of the state's Hammersley Inlet growing area. They were distributed within Washington state and Oregon, according to WSDH.

The start of an outbreak

As further details come to light, it appears as if a food-related gathering hosted by the Los Angeles Times on Dec. 3 was the first to be hit by the norovirus outbreak. More than 80 people fell ill after eating raw oysters at the 101 Best Restaurants event, prompting the Los Angeles Department of Health to launch an investigation.

Hillary Manning, spokesperson for the Los Angeles Times, said the oysters were supplied by Fanny Bay Oysters and sourced by Santa Monica Seafood, which was also a sponsor of the event. The oysters were provided to one of the restaurants featured in the 101 Best Restaurants list, as previously reported by Undercurrent. 

Those oysters have since been recalled.