FDA backs off on plan to ban raw Gulf Coast Oysters

Maybe you can fight city hall.

The Gulf Coast oyster industry is applauding an announcement today that the US Food and Drug Administration is abandoning its plans to ban the sale of raw Gulf Coast oysters.

The FDA announced plans last month that beginning in 2011 it would ban the sale of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf Coast between May and October each year and instead require that all oysters receive post harvest treatment.

That announcement led to a firestorm of opposition not just from people within the seafood industry but also from oyster consumers and government officials.

The FDA has announced Friday that it will continue to work with the oyster industry to work on ways to lower the number of people that become ill or die from eating raw gulf coast oysters each year.

An average of 30 people a year become sick and 15 die from raw oysters that contain a naturally occurring bacteria called Vibrio Vulnificus.

The bacteria is harmless to most people can be fatal to people with pre-existing conditions like cancer or liver disease.


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