SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning residents in five states — including Utah — against purchasing oysters from the Republic of Korea.
The federal administration announced on Thursday that the Republic, more commonly known as South Korea, may have oysters contaminated with norovirus.
South Korea is the third largest exporter of oysters in the world, after France and China, according to the NASA Earth Observatory, an online research arm that studies the changes in the Earth's environment. A norovirus contamination in oysters from South Korea could impact many oyster consumers as the nation exports more than $80 million worth of the shellfish, or 15% of the market, each year.
The FDA is advising consumers not to eat & restaurants & food retailers not to serve or sell & to dispose of these frozen, raw, half-shell oysters that were shipped to distributors in AZ, CA, CO, MT & UT, & may have been distributed to other states as wellhttps://t.co/UcuzuKYdTMpic.twitter.com/vQs8buvu7J
— U.S. FDA Human Foods Program (@FDAfood) July 24, 2025
"The FDA is advising consumers not to eat, and restaurants and food retailers not to serve or sell and to dispose of these frozen, raw, half-shell oysters that were distributed in AZ, CA, CO, MT, and UT, and may have been distributed to other states as well," the agency declared in announcement to the states affected.
Food retailers, restaurants and consumers are strongly encouraged by the FDA to stay away from oysters with lot code B250112. This information can found on the packaging label below the "type of shellfish" listing.
The FDA also reports that consuming shellfish — such as oysters — that have been tainted with norovirus can lead to an illness with diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain as symptoms. They also state that the illness can be more severe for those with compromised immune systems.
If you have symptoms of a norovirus infection, the FDA suggests contacting your healthcare as soon as possible.
