A few years ago a friend went to a seafood restaurant here in town and ordered grouper, which until that night, was my favorite fish.
A few hours later, she was ill. Not your normal food-poisoning. Something far worse. Hot was cold. Cold was hot. She hurt. She itched. I can't remember what else but she got put in the hospital. If it weren't for health experts in Florida, who were familiar with this toxin, I'm not sure that anyone would have figured out what was so seriously wrong with her. Others who had eaten the grouper were hospitalized, too.
The grouper she ate came from warm waters where it had consumed toxic algae. Here's an excerpt from the A.P. story linked above:
The FDA said that fish such as grouper, snapper, amberjack and barracuda represent the most significant threat to consumers. They feed on fish that have eaten toxic marine algae. The toxin is stable in the tissue of living fish and does them no harm. But larger carnivores have higher concentrations of the toxin in their tissues. As a result, the greatest risk of poisoning for humans comes from the largest fish.
Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include nausea, vomiting, vertigo and joint pain. In the most serious cases, neurological problems can last for months or even years. Several outbreaks of the illness were confirmed in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis, the FDA said. Overall, there have been at least 28 reported cases across the country, with the first case being reported in late November.
That toxin is still in my friend's system. She can't eat chocolate or drink wine and has to be careful not to consume any fish that might add to the toxins still in her body.
The out-of-state seafood wholesaler that supplied the restaurant went under after this incident.
I've eaten grouper once since this happened. I bought it at Captain Pete's Seafood shop at Holden Beach, N.C. and cooked it myself. The fishmonger (first time I've ever gotten to use that word!) knew what boat he'd bought the grouper from, and also knew where they'd been fishing. North. Cooler waters.
My friend looks great and has learned to manage what she eats and drinks so that she doesn't have a flare up. The whole thing boggles my mind.
Those of us on the top of the food chain need to be mindful of those on the bottom.
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