FDA ban on raw oysters!

[PopsicleToze]

Louisiana's oyster industry facing perious dangers from FDA's new ban that only targets Gulf oysters.

Times Picayune article here: Louisiana blasts new FDA rule requiring oysters to be sterilized to prevent rare bacterial illness

"The rule will essentially eliminate raw oysters -- at least as Louisianans know them -- from restaurant menus for seven months of the year. Even oysters that will eventually be cooked during those months would have to go through the same cleansing process before being added to any dish, a move some say would undermine the culinary integrity of some of New Orleans' most famous delicacies."

Seattle wonders if Northwest oysters will be next...

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The seafood industry has faced monumental challenges in the past few years and now this could cripple or kill many South Louisiana restaurants. There's already warning signs posted in every restaurant that sells raw oysters warning patrons about the potential dangers. I do not see why the FDA feels so compelled to do this when there are so many greater threats around. Aren't they eaten raw practically around the world?

The Louisiana Restaurant Association is urging restaurants, fishermen and the public to call their members of Congress and the White House to get the FDA to rescind its plan.

Rhonda

[David A. Goldfarb]

The old rule of thumb before refrigeration and air transport was only to eat oysters in months with an "R" in them, clams being the alternative in the summer months.

[JasonTrue]

My understanding was that this "r" month thing is related to the reproductive cycle of oysters, not air transport.

See, for example, this article on Sexless Oysters, which was part of the title of a book by Northwest writer Adam Woog on Northwest inventions.

[TAPrice]

My understanding was that this "r" month thing is related to the reproductive cycle of oysters, not air transport.

See, for example, this article on Sexless Oysters, which was part of the title of a book by Northwest writer Adam Woog on Northwest inventions.

Yes, the R month rule has to do with spawning cycles. It's not relevant in Gulf Coast, because the warmer waters mean that oysters spawn continuously year-round. Despite this, many believe (and I would agree) that even Gulf oysters task better in colder months.

On the other hand, the bacteria vibrio vulnificus has been shown to increase when water temperature rises in the summer. That is the danger that the FDA (rightly or wrongly) is concerned about.

[HungryC]

I can't figure out why the FDA is picking on the oyster industry. I guess they aren't paying the right lobbyists in DC....surely Taco Bell's green onions sicken more people in a year than vibrio does.

[Sugar Apple]

Ridiculous! Life without oysters on the half shell is unthinkable.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Thanks for the info about the spawning cycle. I always thought it was concern about summer bacteria/algae/red tide, and such.

[PopsicleToze]

I'm surprised that there isn't more concern. It's a pretty big industry, and it's not just Louisiana -- it's the entire Gulf Region. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas will suffer, too.

The Gulf region supplies about two-thirds of U.S. oysters, and some people in the $500 million industry argue that the anti-bacterial procedures are too costly. They insist adequate measures are already being taken to battle germs, including increased refrigeration on oyster boats and warnings posted in restaurants.

Avery Bates, vice president of the Organized Seafood Association-Alabama, predicted two-thirds of Alabama's 50 "mom-and-pop oyster shops" would close, mostly because of the cost of treating oysters.

"It's like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer," pretty much sums it up -- if we didn't have to worry about all of the people who will be economically devastated by this.

Rhonda