it could exceed
103 cfu/g in oysters harvested from warmer seawater (DePaola et al., 2000) and the organism can multiply rapidly in oysters upon exposure of elevated temperatures.
Studies have shown that populations of V. parahaemoly- ticus in unrefrigerated oysters could increase rapidly to
50–790 folds of its original level within 24 h of harvest if oysters were exposed to 26 1C (Gooch et al., 2002).