Three Years After Gulf Oil Spill, Continued Testing Shows Gulf Seafood Safe to Eat

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Erin Gillespie April 19, 2013 (850) 617-7737 Three Years After Gulf Oil Spill, Continued Testing Shows Gulf Seafood Safe to Eat More than 3,000 Seafood Products Tested; All Tests Were Well Below Federal Level of Concern for Food Products Tallahassee, FL – Over the past three years, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has extensively tested more than 3,000 seafood products from the Gulf of Mexico to ensure they are safe to eat by consumers in Florida and around the world. Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam released results today highlighting the safety of Gulf shrimp, fish, crabs, oysters and more. “These tests show that Florida seafood is without a doubt safe to eat. Our shrimp, fish and other products continue to be some of the best quality seafood in the world,” Commissioner Putnam said. Between August 2010 and March 31, 2013, the department screened 3,090 seafood samples, including 1,828 finfish, 313 shrimp, 375 oysters, 255 crabs, 261 clams and 58 lobsters for possible oil contamination by testing for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). In the first quarter of 2013, 399 seafood samples were tested, including 308 finfish, 18 oysters, 40 shrimp, 26 crabs and 7 lobsters.   In addition to tests for oil contamination, samples have been screened for the dispersant dioctylsulfosuccinate (DOSS) since March 2011. Dispersant is the chemical that was used to help break up the oil in the water. All findings were well below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s levels of concern; 96 percent had no detectable levels of PAH or DOSS. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. In the past three years, Florida has been the leader among Gulf Coast states in testing seafood for effects of the oil spill. The department used $20 million from BP to improve seafood safety and testing and to launch a statewide and national marketing campaign to promote Gulf seafood, an industry that employs more than 10,000 Floridians. Florida ranked among the top twelve states in 2011 for fresh seafood production with more than 107 million pounds harvested and a dockside value of more than $223 million. Florida fishermen catch more than 84 percent of the nation's supply of grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters, and Spanish mackerel. One hundred percent of spiny lobster and 97 percent of stone crab are harvested in Florida. Detailed information on the seafood testing is available on the department’s website. For more information about the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, visitwww.FreshFromFlorida.com.

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