FDA rejects petition for more vibrio regulations

The US Food and Drug Administration is not planning on any new rules to regulate vibrio vulnificus in the Gulf Coast raw oyster industry.

On November 30th the FDA rejected a call to require post harvest treatment in oysters harvested from the Gulf during the warmest months of the year.

Vibrio vulnificus is an organism which is often found in raw oysters, especially during warmer months, but also occurs naturally in Gulf of Mexico waters.

Most people are not affected by vibrio, but there are certain at-risk groups which should not eat raw oysters at any time of the year.

Those groups include heavy drinkers and people with certain health conditions such as liver disease, diabetes, cancer, or stomach disorders or any illness or treatment that weakens the immune system.

For at-risk individuals vibrio vulnificus can be fatal.

There were 22 vibrio related illnesses in the US in 2013 and 2014, and 9 vibrio related deaths.

In May, a group called the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., demanding the FDA act on the organization’s four-year-old petition to regulate vibrio in shellfish harvested in Gulf Coast waters and sold for raw consumption.

The FDA denied the petition, stating that both shellfish growers and the agency have made significant progress on reducing illnesses and deaths related to Vibrio vulnificus.

In recent years the Gulf Coast shellfish industry adopted time-and-temperatures control measures that are designed to insure that oysters are harvested during the coolest time of day and not left in the sun for any length of time.

The new rules have drastically reduced the amount of time oystermen can work during the summer months, but the efforts are paying off.

FDA said the efforts resulted in a greater than 30 percent reduction in vibrio illnesses reported nationwide, and as much as a 40 percent reduction in deaths.

You can see the full FDA letter at https://cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/FDA%20vibrio%20petition%20denial.pdf

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