New Zealand Food Safety has lifted the public health warning advising against collecting shellfish on the east coast of the North Island, from Cape Runaway to the Wairoa River mouth

A public health warning remains in place for lobster caught between Hicks Bay and Mahanga Beach, near Mahia.

Deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle says lobster samples from near Gisborne and Tokomaru Bay are still coming back over the limit.

He says paralytic shellfish toxins can accumulate in the gut and intestine of lobster, but not the tail and leg meat.

Arbuckle says anyone wanting to eat lobster caught from that area should remove the gut before cooking, because the toxins can spread into the flesh during the cooking process.