Serving Safer Shellfish: Why The FDA Shouldn't Back Down

Oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico during the warm months of summer have a high risk of being contaminated with deadly Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. Most healthy people don't have to worry about that particular bug, but for those with weakened immune systems, Vibrio is literally a killer. Every summer, like clockwork, a dozen or more Americans with cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, HIV, or alcohol-related liver damage die after eating summer oysters from Gulf Coast states.

If you remember being advised not to eat oysters in months without an 'r' in them, Vibrio is part of the reason why.

It doesn't have to be this way. And thanks to a recent announcement from the Food and Drug Administration, it soon won't be--unless the shellfish industry gets its way.

For eight years under the Bush Administration, the FDA basically outsourced shellfish safety to the industry and the states that host it, by letting a committee called the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference experiment with minimal, and as it turns out, ineffective measures to minimize the danger. And what a failed experiment that turned out to be! During this time, at least 118 died agonizing deaths from septicemia and another 130 survived excruciating illnesses caused by eating untreated oysters. Septicemia, or blood poisoning, is marked by severe skin lesions and fluid-filled blisters. Amputation can be required to prevent death.

All along, several inexpensive technologies have been used by some processors to kill Vibrio in oysters. Just freezing the oysters would do the trick, but more advanced techniques like warm-water pasteurization and hydrostatic pressure are also readily available. Those techniques have minimal or no effect on taste, but result in a totally safe product.

At a recent meeting of the ISSC, Michael Taylor, senior adviser for food safety for FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, made the announcement that beginning in 2011 the agency will require summer Gulf oysters to undergo one of these post-harvest processing techniques.

As if on cue, though, some Gulf Coast politicians and some in the industry have begun grumbling about the inconvenience of the proposed new regulations. Even before the meeting was over, industry representatives were in conference calls with Members of Congress to strategize on ways to block FDA. They've started a noisy campaign in their communities, raising fears about job losses to get local officials on their side.

But while some oystermen and local officials are complaining, other enterprising companies in the Gulf that process oysters are presumably planning on expanding their businesses, in anticipation of the new rules going into effect And for many years, Costco, Legal Sea Foods (an East Coast restaurant chain), and other companies have made a point of only selling safer oysters--improving their reputations for food safety while simultaneously pleasing and protecting their customers.

FDA officials should, and I believe will, resist pressure coming from the industry and move forward with the shellfish safety plan they announced last month. A dozen or so preventable deaths shouldn't be coldly dismissed as the cost of doing business, when the cost of actually preventing the deaths is so small.

 

Comments

[janie@atthelake]

I hope the FDA will follow through with this.... I ate alot of oysters in the 70s...but I would not touch one beginning in the 80s. I have heard to much from friends who work with the Texas Parks & Wildlife....not to mention my pop was Fisheries Director for TP&W for over 30 years.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

The situation gets more outrageous by the day. Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) defended the oyster industry's killing of 15 people a year. He told the Los Angeles Times: "Divide 15 deaths by 50 states . . . it's minuscule," he said. "I think 15 is a pretty reasonable number." And that newspaper reported that Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said: "A [government] rule like this could have devastating effects [on the industry]. We stand united to oppose it." No concern about the people who will die next year, and the next year, and the year after that. Legislators like that need to hear from their constituents--and not just the oyster industry.

[sonoffestus]

I have loved seafood my entire life. After working for a major natural and organic food retailer, I am no longer that enthusiatic about seafood. In addition, we are stripping the oceans and their sustainability is questionable. It is true that much of the shellfish out there is farm raised, but how it is processed and how long it "sits around" is a hugh problem no one even talks about. Even when kept alive in tanks shellfish are highly susceptible to spoiling as water tanks can easily become contaminated. One on the main reasons I left the job was because the tracking efforts, handling and storage were terrible and in some cases bordering on illegal.

DO NOT buy shellfish unless you know where it was harvested from and when it was harvested. Frankly,
I am pretty amazed that more people haven't been killed or taken seriously ill. I eat very little raw seafood these days and having worked in the industry I would suggest others do likewise.

PS: Actually, Costco sells some of the best shellfish out there, if you are so inclined.

[Living is Good]

Economics should never be placed ahead of life. What does it say about an industry who wants to continue introducing a known pathogen into society? The FDA is doing exactly what it is supposed to and should be supported for doing so.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

You're right...and we all need to oppose the shellfish industry's efforts to stop the FDA. The industry is going to friendly Gulf Coast members of Congress to prevent FDA action. Writing letters and calling legislators is especially important for people living Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.

[rdipent]

Cold pasturization using electron beams has been available for years and could end the problems of E. Coli O157-H7 in ground beef, viral and bacterial problems with shellfish, as well as bacterial contamination on fruit and vegtables. These illness cause hundreads or thousands of deaths each year and many more serious illnesses that are not fatal.
It is a shame that we have this effective technology but misguided fears and industry/government foot dragging keep allowing preventable deaths to keep occurring.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

"Cold pasteurization" is a euphemism for food irradiation. While it appears to be safe, it adds several percent to the cost of food and consumers have rejected irradiated foods (presumably because of the term "irradiation") have been available. Fortunately, alternatives are available for many purposes...and certainly so in the case of oysters.

[ghudson68]

Just how harmful is this bacteria to the general populous? Shouldn't there just be a "buyer beware" policy when dealing with raw food? This Newsy.com video looks at both sides of this raw debate: http://bit.ly/BLyDL

[rdipent]

This is a serious bug for people with underlying disease, but not so for healthy people. Most states already require a warning about eating raw shellfish. the problem is that this is not the only bug that can make people sick from raw shellfish. Hepatitis A, Norwalk virus, cholera, typhoid and other viruses and bacteria can cause serious illness even in healthy people. They all are preventable if we used the science available to us.

[Michael F. Jacobson - Huffpost Blogger]

The general population is rarely affected. But "buyer beware" isn't sufficient protection for consumers when the penalty for a lapse of awareness is death.