Source: FDA; Biennial Meeting of the ISSC (Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference)
Surely with all of us dying in mass from H1N1 (do I have to?), AIDS and numerous other maladies, the FDA needed to take action against the barbaric practice of…eating raw oysters (gasp!)
Why pick on the humble oyster, long a seafood staple and extensively harvested throughout the coastal states of the US, Atlantic and Pacific? Two words -Vibrio vulnificus. Huh? It’s a bacteria present in raw oysters. The “at-risk” populace? The usual suspects, those with immune systems or otherwise impaired health, including those with: AIDS; cancer; kidney disease; diabetes; and, alcohol abuse.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has stated that the ISSC has not yet achieved the goal of a 60% reduction in infections of Vibrio vulnificus in CA, FL, LA, and TX, coming in at only a 35% reduction.
The answer, the dreaded “post-harvest processing” -Rapid freezing, high hydrostatic pressure, mild heat, and low dose gamma radiation (look what it did for Bruce Banner). All of which may be bad for Vibrio vulnificus, but it’s also not really all that great for those of us who love to eat raw oysters.
15% of Gulf Coast oysters are currently processed post-harvest. The FDA insists that the Gulf States could easily increase that to 100%, a practice they endorse. Don’t even get me started on Vibrio parahaemolyticus (no, I don’t make this up) the other common oyster bacteria.
In brief, when we weigh the relative health hazards facing the US, it’s fairly safe to say that bacterial infection from raw oysters doesn’t make the “short list.” So to the FDA, I say this, “Please keep your hands, heat and gamma radiation off of my plate.” Thank you. VTY.
Who thought that one day in the future we might be fighting to legalize raw oysters along with marijuana.
~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire
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