Clean Monday
Clean Monday is a public holiday in Greece and Cyprus, where it is celebrated with outdoor excursions, the consumption of shellfish and other fasting food, a special kind of azyme bread, baked only on that day, named "lagana" () and the widespread custom of flying kites. Eating meat, eggs and dairy products is traditionally forbidden to Orthodox Christians throughout Lent, with fish being eaten only on major feast days, but shellfish is permitted in European denominations. This has created the tradition of eating elaborate dishes based on seafood (shellfish, molluscs, fish roe etc.). Traditionally, it is considered to mark the beginning of the spring season, a notion which was used symbolically in Ivan Bunin's critically acclaimed story, "Pure Monday".
Geoduck
In December 2013, China imposed a ban on geoduck and other "double-shell aquatic animals"—such as clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops—that were imported from the west coast of the United States. Chinese officials found in an Alaskan shipment high levels of saxitoxin, a natural product that certain shellfish can accumulate, which when eaten by humans, can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning resulting in severe illness or even death. Companies exporting the product claim that Chinese inspectors were using a standard more rigorous than necessary to be considered safe for human consumption. A shipment from Washington state was high in arsenic. The ban was in place for less than 6 months, ending in May 2014.