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The FDA's Michael Taylor cited the deadly threat posed by the bacterium vibrio vulnificus in explaining the agency's decision to ban the sale of fresh, live, unprocessed oysters from Florida, Louisiana and Texas during the warm summer months. The law is set to take effect in 2011.
Oysters that have been quick-frozen, heated, pressurized or treated with gamma rays will be exempt from the ban, which mirrors a law adopted by California in 2003. According to Taylor, that law has winnowed the state's vibrio death rate to nearly zero, with just one fatality being investigated as a possible vibrio case. The nationwide vibrio death rate over the same period has approached 15 annually.
"Seldom is the evidence on a food safety problem and solution so unambiguous," Taylor told the audience at an Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference meeting in Manchester, N.H.
But that's not how Lynn Martina, owner of Lynn's Quality Oysters in Eastpoint, Fla., sees it.
"I think what they're doing is devastating," says Martina, a board member of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council. "I wish we could work only six months a year. Unfortunately, it don't work that way."
Martina says the Panhandle's oystermen and women, who've already been battered this year by the weak economy and a spate of undersized oysters that can't be harvested, aren't in a position to buy the processing equipment the new law will require.
"This is nothing but a fishing village," Martina says of the Apalachicola Bay area. "They might as well roll up the carpet here in Franklin County."
Martina questions the FDA's conclusion that the oyster industry should assume responsibility for eliminating vibrio, a nasty blood infection that disproportionately affects alcoholics and those suffering from AIDS, diabetes or kidney disorders.
"When those with liver disease, due to heavy drinking, need to receive the message, education is that much harder," Taylor said in his speech, explaining why the FDA opted for the prohibition strategy. That sort of reasoning exasperates Martina and her colleagues, who can't imagine why folks with compromised immune systems are feasting on raw oysters.
"The people who are getting sick shouldn't be eating raw oysters," she says. "When there are people dying from drunk driving, do they look to the liquor stores? No, they don't."
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10-21-2009 @10:10AM Raw Oyster Alert said... Blaming the victim for their own death is ridiculous. The oysters are not safe to eat and people are not aware that they can kill you. My father did not choose to die from eating raw oysters -- he did not KNOW that he might be at risk. How many people with diabetes are not aware? How many people in risk groups like liver disease are not aware? The oyster industry is more concerned about their MONEY than keeping people safe. Oysters can be made safe --- the processes are in place and are viable options -- of course FDA should require food to be safe.
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10-21-2009 @12:01PM Raw Oyster Alert said... www.rawoysteralert.com
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10-21-2009 @3:03PM Matt said... Yeah, I'm sorry, but "I'll go broke if I have to make sure the food I sell you isn't fatal" really isn't a compelling argument.
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10-22-2009 @10:30AM ~L~ said... There are always instances where people aren't informed about these types of things and that is a shame. But why didn't their doctor give them a list of things they should do or avoid when they were diagnosed? I think that blaming these types of problems on an industry that has been passed from generation to generation and is someone's livelihood is irresponsible. We all need to take responsibility for our own health, and we need a healthcare community that is informed and passing on that information. That is the job of the FDA.
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10-27-2009 @7:02AM jschanba said... Going broke and getting other work or governement assistance until you can find other work is one thing, but serving food that can kill someone is a whole nother one that is unacceptable.
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10-28-2009 @3:12PM cdt said... Lots of foods can kill you one way or another. People with blood disorders are in charge of themselves and should do what they need to do to protect themselves from food that could harm them just like people with allergies. If you have an allergy to peanuts you don't eat peanut butter. If you don't know seafood is dangerous to you if you have a compromised immune system then you have your head in the sand. Sorry for those 15 - 30 people a year who don't know that but to penalize a whole industry for so few is ridiculous.
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11-16-2009 @7:01PM catchristo said... This is a free country, or at least it is supposed to be. We should be able to eat what we want. I love raw oysters and avoid them in the warmer months because of the risk. If I so choose to eat raw oysters, or anything else for that matter, in the warmer months, I should be free to do so. Don't be in such a hurry to give away all of our freedoms one at a time. If you don't want the risk, get them cooked! Come on people, the roll of the government is not to tell us what to eat.
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