The Food and Drug Administration has said it is getting serious about cutting down on food poisoning from raw U.S.-grown oysters.
This means that starting in 2011, you could have a tough time finding live oysters from May to October. Real oyster lovers know the old rule of thumb is that
oysters are safest to eat during any month that has an "R" in it. (September through April.)
USA Today said the FDA's new plan would require that oysters undergo one of four processes:
- Quick freezing
- High pressure treatment
- Mild heat
- Low dose gamma radiation
The
USA Today story explained the implications of the plan:
" 'If you were a connoisseur of Gulf coast raw oysters in the summer, they won't be available to you any more,' says Ken Moore, executive director of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference in Columbia, S.C.
"At a speech before the group in Manchester, N.H. on Saturday, FDA's Michael Taylor outlined the agency's plans to combat the deadly bacteria vibrio vulnificus by requiring Gulf-raised oysters to undergo post-production processing to kill the bacteria.
"Taylor told the assembled state health department and shellfish industry officials that as of 2011, the agency would no longer allow fresh, live oysters from Texas, Louisiana and Florida to be sold during the warm-weather months unless they were processed.
"The move will save lives, FDA believes. In 2003 the state of California banned the sale of untreated oysters from the Gulf unless they had undergone processing.
" 'The results were stark. Between 1991 and 2001, 40 deaths had occurred in the state due to vibrio vulnificus. Once post-harvest processing was required, the number of deaths dropped to zero,' Taylor said. 'Seldom is the evidence on a food safety problem and solution so unambiguous.'"
The Center for Science in the Public Interest has listed the 10 riskiest FDA-regulated foods. Oysters are number four on the list [PDF].
