AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine officials are advising consumers to avoid eating lobster tomalley after tests revealed high levels of toxins in some lobsters.

The Maine Center for Disease Control said Friday that lobster meat is perfectly safe but that people should not eat the tomalley _ a soft green substance found in the body of the lobster.

High levels of toxic algae known as red tide have been recorded along Maine's coast this summer, forcing the state to close many areas to clam and mussel harvesting. Tomalley functions as the lobster's liver by serving as a natural filter for contaminants that are in the water.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers for many years not to eat tomalley, which is considered a delicacy by some.