Free Republic

Ask someone who investigates foodborne illness for a living what they won't put on their plate, and the list is shorter—and stranger—than you'd expect. It's not that these experts live in fear. Most will tell you that all food carries some risk, and the real skill is deciding which risks are worth taking. Frank Yiannas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s former deputy commissioner for food policy and response, says he doesn't think of foods as simply "good" or "bad." Instead, "I approach everything with what I would say is a quantitative risk assessment," he says. "I'm calculated." Still, after...

Two people have died in Louisiana after contracting flesh-eating bacteria from raw oysters, and state officials warned of an increase in cases. The oysters were infected with Vibrio vulnificus, a type of bacteria found in coastal waters and peaking in May through October when temperatures are warmer. People can be sickened when eating raw or undercooked shellfish, especially oysters. This year, 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus have been reported in Louisiana as of July 31, and four have died. Salmonella outbreak linked to recalled eggs; 95 sick since January “During the same time period over the previous 10 years, an...

Back in September, Texas residents Vicki Bergquist and wife Jeanette LeBlanc were visiting family in Louisiana. They went crabbing with friends and family on the coast, picking up a sack of raw oysters in a market in Westwego. It wasn't long after when LeBlanc's health rapidly declined, CBS affiliate KLFY reports. The couple's friend Karen Bowers says she and LeBlanc shucked and ate about two dozen raw oysters. "About 36 hours later she started having extreme respiratory distress, had a rash on her legs and everything," Bergquist said. "An allergic reaction of sorts, that's what I would call it. That's...