Truemors
Potentially deadly infections in consumers of oyster 
The FDA suspended its proposal on the processing of raw oysters. (Photo: Stock File)
FDA backs down on raw oyster proposal
UNITED STATES
Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 15:30 (GMT + 9)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Saturday its decision to put its proposal on the processing of raw oysters on hiatus. Amid dissent from politicians and the oyster industry, the administration is taking heed and taking additional time to review the facts and hear concerns.
Last month, the FDA planned a proposal to mandate the processing of raw oysters harvested during the summer months. The aim was to limit the risk of potentially deadly infections with the naturally occurring bacterium Vibrio vulnificis in consumers.
In response, the oyster industry and lawmakers from around the Gulf Coast protested regarding the disastrous consequences the new law would have on the industry. Additionally, they said, the public health benefit would be minimal.
The FDA is now finally paying attention.
“It is clear to the FDA from our discussions to date that there is a need to further examine both the process and timing for large and small oyster harvesters to gain access to processing facilities or equivalent controls in order to address this important public health goal,” the FDA said in a statement. “Therefore, before proceeding, we will conduct an independent study to assess how post-harvest processing or other equivalent controls can be feasibly implemented in the Gulf Coast in the fastest, safest and most economical way.”
Mike Taylor, senior advisor to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, met with members of Congress from the Gulf Coast on Tuesday to discuss the proposed measure.
US Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) applauded the FDA's move to put the measure on pause.
"By reversing course, the FDA has acknowledged that its original plan was unreasonable and that we need a commonsense approach to protecting the small number of at-risk consumers."
Conversely, consumer advocates claim that this decision poses a “health tragedy” for the public.
"Perhaps in the industry's mind the number of people who are sickened or die is worth it? However, for goodness sake, once the decision to require a pasteurization step in oysters was made by the FDA, the FDA should have the guts to stick with it," said Seattle lawyer and food safety advocate Bill Marler.
Related articles:
- Senators aim to block proposed raw oyster ban
- New oyster ban proposal sparks opposition
- FDA to mandate processing of raw oysters
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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at 06:38 on November 17th, 2009
Louisiana's Mary Landrieu is one of the supporters of the charge against blocking the FDA initiative on raw oysters. (Photo: Stock File)
Senators aim to block proposed raw oyster ban
UNITED STATES
Monday, November 09, 2009, 08:40 (GMT + 9)
Legislation to block the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from using federal money to ban the sale of raw, untreated oysters in the summer was introduced by three Gulf Coast senators on Thursday. The FDA wants to sterilise raw oysters during the warmer months of April-October to prevent bacterial infections of the naturally occurring pathogen Vibrio vulnificus in consumers.
Senators Bill Nelson, D-Fla, Mary Landrieu, D-La, and David Vitter, R-La introduced the bill. An identical one was offered in the US House of Representatives by Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla on Wednesday.
"This is a serious overreach by the FDA and it must be stopped," Landrieu said, Times-Picayune reports.
Raw oyster. (Photo: Stock File)
About 15 people die annually from raw oyster consumption, mainly between April-October. Most of the afflicted have weakened immune systems because of other ailments, critics argue.
Oyster producers note that foods like peanut butter and beef pose greater health risks and cause more deaths than raw oysters do – and that if the ban is enforced, their financial losses would be devastating.
In defence of the proposal, Senior Adviser to the FDA Commissioner Michael Taylor claimed that campaigns warning people with vulnerable immunity systems about the dangers of raw oysters in warm weather have been ineffective.
The ban would mainly affect locals and visitors in the Gulf Coast. The raw oyster industry makes up a significant part of the regional economy.
“Seafood plays a big role in Louisiana’s culture and history and state economy,” Vitter said, The Courier and Daily Comet reports. “Typical of the federal bureaucracy once it decides to act, the FDA is going overboard.”
“Banning raw oysters is an irresponsible solution to a problem that could be solved through increased education and awareness," he added.
Many people say treated oysters do not taste as good as raw ones. Paul Rotner, director of operations for Acme Oyster House restaurants in Louisiana, said his restaurants sell about 4.6 million oysters per year for serving raw and chargrilling, one-third of which are sold during the warmer months.
Related articles:
- New oyster ban proposal sparks opposition
- FDA to mandate processing of raw oysters
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
at 06:48 on November 17th, 2009
Because of the dangers of bacterial poisioning, the FDA will restrict the sale of unprocessed oysters as of 2011. (Photo: Stock File)
FDA to mandate processing of raw oysters
UNITED STATES
Tuesday, October 20, 2009, 02:30 (GMT + 9)
US-grown oysters will be a hassle to find from May to October once the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implements its new plan to reduce deaths from bacterial food poisoning.
FDA's Michael Taylor said the agency will fight the fatal Vibrio vulnificus by mandating post-production processing of Gulf-raised oysters to kill the bacteria.
Fresh, live, unprocessed oysters from Texas, Louisiana and Florida will no longer be legally sold from May to October as of 2011. The agency expects to avoid many deaths this way, USA Today reports.
In 2003, California banned the sale of unprocessed oysters from the Gulf.
"The results were stark. Between 1991 and 2001, 40 deaths had occurred in the state due to Vibrio vulnificus,” Taylor said. “Once post-harvest processing was required, the number of deaths dropped to zero. Seldom is the evidence on a food safety problem and solution so unambiguous."
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infection with Vibrio vulnificus is underreported. Between 1988 and 2006 the centres tracked 900 infections across the Gulf Coast states.
The bacterial infection kills about 50 per cent of its human hosts.
FDA would require that the Gulf coast oyster undergo one of the following four processes to kill potential bacteria:
The oysters will still be raw, but they won’t be alive. Texture and flavour will be insignificantly altered, claimed Ken Moore, executive director of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference in Columbia, S.C.
The FDA had been working to educate consumers about the potential risks of raw oysters, but the campaign was not working.
Taylor thinks this is because the bacteria is more dangerous to those with chronic disease, and many people are unaware of their diagnosis and eat the oysters anyway.
To prevent further deaths, FDA's new regulations will go into effect in spring 2011, Taylor said.
The move will powerfully affect oyster producers in the Gulf states, who grow about 55 per cent of the total US production.
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By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
at 06:49 on November 17th, 2009
Seafood dealers say the proposed ban will hurt them in that frozen oysters do not have the same test as the raw kind. (Photo: Stock File)
New oyster ban proposal sparks opposition
UNITED STATES
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 17:40 (GMT + 9)
Fishers and agricultural officials are criticising the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) proposed raw oyster ban as unusual and unnecessarily harmful to the industry.
From May to October, as of 2011, the FDA will put into effect a ban on live, in-the-shell Gulf oysters to reduce illnesses caused by the Vibrio vulnificus bacterium, which is destroyed when oysters are cooked. The pathogen can cause death in people with diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
Michael Taylor, senior advisor to the Commissioner of the FDA, said last week that the FDA will change Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) rules to require post-harvest processing (PHP) to reduce the pathogen before the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC), Food Safety News reports.
The FDA will allow PHP methods of serving oysters all year. PHP methods freeze the oyster and thaw it out – which many people claim damages the seafood's taste, the Associated Press reports.
“I think it would hurt my business a great deal,” said Mack Carter, owner of Shuckums Oyster Bar. “It’s like freezing a steak; it just does not have the same taste.”
Industry groups have worked with the FDA to meet illness reduction goals for over a decade. By 2008, illness derived from raw oyster consumption was supposed to be reduced by 60 per cent, but Florida only reached a reduction of 45 per cent.
“We had made some pretty good strides, and were close,” said Alan Peirce, a bureau chief with the state Division of Aquaculture. “The question is, should you lower the boom on an industry for that, when eggs kill 10,000 for every one killed by oysters?”
About 15 deaths occur annually as a result of Vibro infections associated with raw oyster consumption, according to the FDA.
The FDA’s ban would dramatically impact the the economy across the Gulf Coast.
“It would be devastating. It would kill the industry,” said Anita Grove, executive director of the Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce.
Because PHP is expensive, the ban may harm small oyster harvesters more than others.
“The big guys might not be saddened by this. They could turn out to be the only game in town,” Peirce said.
US Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fla, and US Rep Allen Boyd, R-Monticello, co-authored a letter to Margaret Hamburg, head of the FDA, opposing the ban. The legislators indicated they will apply significant political pushback against it.
“It is a unilateral move, done without any input,” Boyd said in a Friday interview.
Related article:
- FDA to mandate processing of raw oysters
By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com