Traces of salmonella found in cockle specimens: the Municipality of Fiumicino has imposed a temporary ban on collection, trade and consumption
Alarm telline on the Roman coast: just before the New Year’s Eve dinner, a test report carried out by the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the Lazio and Tuscany Regions identified salmonella in some specimens of molluscs and for this reason, in order to protect public health, a temporary ban on collection, marketing and consumption was imposed.
Telline alarm in Maccarese, what happened
There is a temporary ban on the collection, marketing and release for direct human consumption of live bivalve molluscs, cockles, coming from Area 2 – Maccarese, due to the presence of salmonella in some samples: this was made known by the Municipality of Fiumicino which reported a statement from the ASL Rm 3 and issued a specific ordinance.
The following statement appeared on the official website of the Municipality: “The ASL RM 3 informs that, with a specific ordera temporary ban has been placed on the collection, marketing and release for direct human consumption of live bivalve molluscs, cockles, coming from Area 2 – Maccarese. The measure becomes necessary following a test report from the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of the Lazio and Tuscany Regions, which reported the presence of Salmonella in cockle samples taken in the Maccarese area.
To protect public health and await the results of further investigations e investigations health authorities, Area 2 – Maccarese was therefore subjected to a temporary downgrading of its health status, with the consequent ban on all collection and marketing activities of live bivalve molluscs intended for direct human consumption”.
Salmonella in shellfish can cause food poisoning which can last up to a week, particularly affecting the most fragile subjects. The cockle samples that showed traces of salmonella were taken in the area of Maccarese: as we read on ‘RomaToday’, further investigations are underway to understand how extensive the problem is.
Symptoms of salmonella infection generally include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, nausea and vomiting: they usually appear between 12 and 72 hours after ingestion of contaminated food or water. In most cases everything resolves within a few days, but in the most serious cases a contamination can also lead to more serious problems, such as dehydration, reactive arthritis or more serious infections in fragile subjects such as young children, the elderly and the immunosuppressed.
Restaurateurs turn towards clams
In light of the ordinance issued by the Municipality of Fiumicino, following the press release from the ASL Roma 3, the restaurateurs in the area have adapted, renouncing the clams for the less than New Year’s. Speaking to ‘Adnkronos’, the owner of a well-known restaurant in Maccarese declared that for the dinner “there are no cockles but only clams”.
And on what happened, he spoke like this: “The cockles are a particular product in Passoscuro, a peculiarity of the territory, just think of the famous festival that is held every year. Therefore it is extremely important to protect them. I personally don’t fish and I don’t fully know the technical problems, but I imagine that everything is part of a fishing system that should already be regulated and I think it is enough to refer to what already exists”.
