Hong Kong halts raw oyster sales from French brand over possible gastroenteritis link

Hong Kong food safety authorities have ordered an immediate halt to the sale of oysters from a French brand, after suspected gastroenteritis cases emerged in the Netherlands, which some catering industry operators said weakened consumer confidence and added to the woes of the already struggling sector.The Centre for Food Safety on Wednesday also ordered the trade to suspend imports of raw oysters from the French brand Josephine that were produced and packed between March 5 and 25.Chris Chung, whose oyster restaurant sells around seven oyster brands, noted that the Josephine brand was rather “obscure”.Given that raw oysters remained a “relatively niche market”, the city’s roughly one dozen suppliers typically stocked a few varieties and distributed them to local restaurants, he said.Chung added that his restaurant had experienced a 40 to 50 per cent decline in business since January.In February, the government called for the public to temporarily stop consuming raw oysters due to norovirus-related food poisoning cases.