I had never heard of whelks, which are apparently sea snails, and I still don’t buy seafood from trucks parked at the side of the road.

What the UK Food Standards Agency reported on back in Sept. has now been formalized in a report from Eurosurveillance.

An increase in the number of cases of Salmonella enterica serotype Goldcoast infection was observed in England during September 2013. A total of 38 cases were reported, with symptom onset dates between 21 June and 6 October 2013. Epidemiological, environmental, microbiological and food chain evidence all support the conclusion that this outbreak was associated with eating whelks processed by the same factory. Whelks are a novel vehicle of Salmonella infection and should be considered when investigating future outbreaks.

I had never heard of whelks, which are apparently sea snails, and I don’t buy seafood from trucks parked at the side of the road.

But according to the UK Food Standards Agency, an outbreak of Salmonella Gold-coast has sickened at least 18 people, largely in the East Anglia area.

The investigation has identified potential links between the outbreak and the consumption of whelks from independent shops, market stalls and mobile seafood vans. As part of this investigation, Lynn Shellfish Ltd of King’s Lynn (formally known as Heiploeg or Heiploeg and Lynn Shrimpers) has issued a recall of all batches of frozen and chilled whelks.