Posted on 10/27/2009 7:35:24 PM PDT by Artemis Webb
NEW ORLEANS – Federal officials plan to ban sales of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico unless the shellfish are treated to destroy potentially deadly bacteria — a requirement that opponents say could deprive diners of a delicacy cherished for generations.
The plan has also raised concern among oystermen that they could be pushed out of business.
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.
About 15 people die each year in the United States from raw oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus, which typically is found in warm coastal waters between April and October. Most of the deaths occur among people with weak immune systems caused by health problems like liver or kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, or AIDS.
(snip)
"We have one man who's 97 years old, and he comes in here every week and gets his oyster fix, no matter what month it is," said Mark DeFelice, head chef at Pascal's Manale Restaurant in New Orleans. "There comes a time when we need to be responsible. Government doesn't need to be involved in this."
The anti-bacterial process treats oysters with a method similar to pasteurization, using mild heat, freezing temperatures, high pressure and low-dose gamma radiation.
But doing so "kills the taste, the texture," DeFelice said. "For our local connoisseurs, people who've grown up eating oysters all their lives, there's no comparison" between salty raw oysters and the treated kind.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ban the FDA!!
Nothing like sitting on a stool and eating a couple dozen live oysters. Not recommended it you do have immune system problems, but otherwise just fine. What they are suggesting is that they all need to be cooked..and then served cold. Crazy.
Man and beast has been eating these things for centuries.
Slap ‘em with spinach and cheese and I’ll take my chances as I do every year...
Salted snot...
Lots of folks in Fl, AL,MS,LA and TX will be hurt.
Why is the FDA punishing the ladies? :-)
The wonderful liberal government going after evil fishermen in the gulf.
First the Central Valley in California, now Gulf Coast oysters.
The FDA is destroying our capacity to feed ourselves. This could get ugly. We here in Texas may not roll over like the Californians.
Listening Governor Perry ?
No one I know eats out-of-season oysters anyway. I love the raw, but before October? No way.
I wished several times that night that I would die.
But if people want to eat 'em, that's their business. Folks warn you down their that you may get a bad one.
I believe that's misleading. From looking at these FDA webpages (kudos to the AP for including a link to the main speech), it appears to me that all Gulf oysters sold commercially will have to be so treated:
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187012.htm
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187014.htm
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/ucm187015.htm
I will be so happy to see this rotten administration depart Washington.
This action by Obama's FDA is not only going to hurt many producers and restaurants, but this is a culinary disaster: stupid, self-inflicted damage to one of America's great food treasures, consumption of the Gulf oyster.
About eating Oysters:
Small government, free people — Your dad tells you to not eat raw oysters in months without an “r”.
Obama Government, herd animals — FDA regulations, expensive processing procedures, regulatory burdens and expenses placed on small businesses and fishermen, warning signs in restaurants, and basically the end of ‘raw’ oysters.
Change you can believe in!
So when’s your anniversary? I think they say no oysters in a month without an “R”? ;-)_
I have spent many of nights at the Pascal’s Manale Restaurant’s oyster bar, downing oysters and getting ready for BBQ shrimp.
But, try to make it a rule to only eat raw oysters in months that have an “R.”
There are plenty of contaminated oysters waiting to be delivered from CHINA!
If I can’t eat AMERICAN SEAFOOD, I WON’T EAT ANY SEA FOOD. PERIOD!
LOL! It was last month. Just steak and shrimp, then a night out for a hockey game. No oysters. None since that night. {:-0
But I’m sure all those foreign oysters have labels on them saying they’re treated. That makes them totally safe.
I don’t think the Chinese oysters will have the lead and mercury out. But the FDA isn’t worried about that. Just clean American food and the people who make a living getting it.
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