What foods do our restaurant inspectors not eat?

July 12, 2024.Reading time 7 minutes.

Their time in restaurants has given our investigators insight into a different question – are there any foods they avoid because of the risk of food borne illness? We asked a few of our inspectors and got all sorts of answers. That included plenty who said they didn’t avoid any types of food. For those inspectors who did avoid some foods, two trends emerged.

How I learned to harvest shellfish (starting with checking the shellfish safety map!)

June 11, 2024.Reading time 8 minutes.

A person’s legs in waterproof boots in shallow water at a rocky beach

While recreational shellfish harvesting is a year-round activity, it is especially popular in the summer when warmer weather and mid-day low tides make it easier. However, warmer temperatures can also create conditions for marine (saltwater) biotoxins. Learn what you can do to reduce your risk.

Additional Vashon beaches declared pollution free and safe for shellfish harvesting

June 16, 2021.Reading time 6 minutes.

The water along the Vashon-Maury Island shoreline is getting cleaner. State officials reopened last week 116 acres of shellfish beds to harvesting along the east shoreline of Vashon and Maury islands.

Quartermaster Harbor beaches closed for shellfish harvesting

August 29, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) has been detected at unsafe levels in Quartermaster Harbor shellfish on Vashon-Maury Island. As a result, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has closed Quartermaster Harbor beaches to recreational shellfish harvest. The closure includes all species of shellfish including clams, geoduck, scallops, mussels, oysters, snails and other invertebrates; the closure […]

The raw deal: Why under-cooked oysters make you sick

July 18, 2017.Reading time 3 minutes.

In the last few weeks we have seen a spike in illness associated with consumption of raw oysters, and as the summer heats up, we anticipate more. We sat down with Jenny Lloyd, one of the epidemiologists investigating these illnesses, to learn more about what’s making people sick. Why do raw oysters make people […]