Legislators seek to stop FDA ban on raw oysters

US Congressman Allen Boyd and Senator Bill Nelson are trying to stop the Food and Drug Administration from implementing a proposal that could ban Gulf Coast raw oysters for up to 8 months out of the year. In a letter issued on October the 21st the two legislators ask that the FDA reconsider the plan that they say would harm the oyster farmers, harvesters and processors in Florida and the greater Gulf Coast. They call the FDA proposal “draconian”, “unprecedented” and “unwarranted” especially in light of the fact that the Gulf Coast oyster industry has always worked with the government in the past to voluntarily adopt rules to lower the number of oyster related illnesses and deaths. The legislators said the FDA action is especially troubling because it could shut down an entire industry to prevent 30 illnesses and 15 deaths a year, most of which occur in a population that should not eat raw food of any kind. The FDA’s plan, they say, would put an undue burden on oyster farmers and the Gulf economy of Florida and they ask that the FDA retract the proposal and continue to work with the industry to reduce Vibrio vulnificus infections.

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