Posted on 10/28/2009 7:22:46 AM PDT by Ebenezer
At the small warehouse tucked away in the back side of the French Quarter, the shuckers at P&J Oyster Co. have arrived before daybreak for 133 years.
Their in-shell and shucked oysters have been on the menus of generations of restaurateurs, from oysters on the halfshell at Acme Oyster House and Casementos to the seafood gumbo at Dickie Brennans Steakhouse.
In less than two years, the tradition could become obsolete for seven months out of the year, based on newly announced oyster guidelines from the Food and Drug Administration.
In an effort to reduce cases of a rare, but potentially fatal, bacterial illness contracted from raw oysters, the FDA announced new rules this month that will require any oyster served from April through October to undergo a sterilization process before it can be sold in restaurants or on the market.
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
Pelican State ping
This FDA policy is another display of the nanny-state mentality. Area restaurants already warn patrons about consuming raw oysters at their own risk.
This is NOT about saving a life due to oyster bacteria... it IS all about control and destroying the economy, one chink at a time.
An average 30 people/year get sick from this. 15 of them die. How much is the gubmint spending to save 15 lives? How much will this cost Louisiana businesses? This is such a load of dung, and I don’t even eat oysters. We’re from the government, and we’re here to help!
My body, my bacteria.
How long until restaurants require you to sign a waiver to eat raw oysters.
....ruin the economy even further (and punish a Republican state in the process).
Oysters on the half shell at “the Pearl”,
then coffee and beignets at Morning Call.
Yes that was a while ago.
Morning Call was really the best, marble counters,
150 watt bulbs( it was so bright you needed sun glasses
at night), and a mixed crowd from construction
workers to debutants, musicians, entertainers, and
just plain folk.
When choosing between giving up oysters and running a small risk of getting a bacterial infection, it’s really no choice at all. How about letting people eat oysters if they want to ‘risk’ it, just like we let them smoke cigs and eat high-cholesterol foods?
And to think, when I was a kid we actually cheated death by drinking water from a garden hose.....
The government needs to get out of our lives, period.
I’ve consumed quite a lot of them and my recommendation is that, just to be on the safe side, you should only eat raw oysters in months that have an “r” in them. Learned that from all of the raw oysters eating relatives that came before me.
It is heartening to know that us Louisianans will be able to bypass this proposed regulation because the oysters will stay in-state and out of the reach of the nanny state.
I'm telling you ... the revolution is coming. They really don't realize that the heck they are doing or brewing.
Agreed - love the raw oysters but live by the rule “Oysters ‘R’ in Season”
I usually like raw oysters but I once became very ill after eating at a local restaurant that specializes in oysters. It wasn’t like normal food poisoning. I just felt terrible and had no energy for several days. I wondered if it had something to do with the so-called “red tide”. I couldn’t figure out how a restaurant that should have had decades of experience with oysters could screw up. But it is believable that raw oysters might not always be the safest thing to eat.
Oysters, mmm!...mmm!...mmm!
"Morning Call was really the best, marble counters, 150 watt bulbs( it was so bright you needed sun glasses at night),..."
You know, I wish we could just do away with the Goverment and start over.
Almost all the day to day problems are caused by people in this goverment!
Todays “leadership” are mostly brain dead by the over use of drugs in their childhood when flower power was trendy.
At some point enough will be enough and pitch forks will be in order.
This is NOT about saving a life due to oyster bacteria... it IS all about control and destroying the economy, one chink at a time.
You are right on spot. In fact, they wouldn’t mind cleaning the gene pool with oyster bacteria. But, you are right it’s all about control. We can never give up the fight for our country!!!!!
I don’t do “raw oysters”, but I do like ‘em fried. That being said, this is nuts. How about requiring a warning about raw or undercooked seafood, and the risk is on the consumer.
Oh - wait, that is already being done.
Hello- if someone wants to engage in a possibly risky meal, that is their call. Arrrggghhh.. Just use reasonable care in the harvest, storage, and serving of the product. Warn the consumer, and then be done with it.
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