A TEMPORARY ban has been imposed on the marketing of cockles around a historic Highland castle.
Argyll and Bute Council's Environmental Health team has identified raised levels of bacteria in the cockle harvesting area in the waters around Castle Stalker, the seat of the Stewarts of Appin.
One industry source believes it is the E. coli bacteria which has been been detected at Castle Stalker and would be monitored and possibly dealt with by ultra violet light treatment if the problem persists, or the cockles will not be harvested.
The council said cockles from this area could pose a risk to human health and so could not be placed on the market. Notices to warn the public and casual gatherers had been posted at various locations on the shore.
Commercial shellfish harvesters in these areas have been contacted by the council and steps have been taken to postpone harvesting until the microbiological level subsides.
Monitoring work is currently being undertaken by the council to evaluate this situation and when the situation subsides, the warning notices will be removed.
The bacteria detected is to be completely different to the natural toxins which have closed shellfish harvesting sites in Shetland. These toxins are produced by marine phytoplankton and levels are typically higher in summer, but harvesting waters are closed if the legal limit is exceeded.
It emerged last week that the Food Standards Agency watchdog had been made aware of approximately 70 people in south-east England who have reported symptoms of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning.
These cases, most of which happened between July 13 and 15, have been linked to the eating of mussels from Shetland.
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