FDA is going too far with oyster regulations

ALOUISIANA congressman compared federal food regulators' plan to rid the nation of oysters infected with a potentially deadly bacteria "to swatting a fly with a sledgehammer." Rep. Charlie Melancon should have added that the Food and Drug Administration's sledgehammer might do more damage to oystermen than to the rare bacterial infection the agency aims to eliminate.

The FDA guidelines would ban the sale of raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico in the warm weather months unless the oysters are treated to destroy the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.

Seafood industry officials say this requirement, which is slated to go into effect in 2011, could double or triple the price of oysters and drive some small operations out of business.

Each year about a dozen people die after eating oysters infected with Vibrio vulnificus. The bacteria poses by far the greatest threat to people with weakened immune systems. Those suffering from cancer, liver and kidney disease, diabetes and AIDS are most vulnerable.

Any potentially fatal food-borne illness is a serious public health concern. But the 15 deaths attributed last year to Vibrio vulnificus should be put in the context of the 5,700 Americans who died from food-related illnesses.

"We see more people die each year from peanuts, chicken, E. coli, beef," Avery Bates, vice president of the Organized Seafood Association-Alabama, told The Associated Press.

For years restaurants have prominently posted warnings about the risks of eating raw oysters. Yet millions of healthy Americans do consume them — and rarely suffer any ill effects.

Congressman Melancon, D-La., noted that Americans have been enjoying fresh, raw oysters for hundreds of years. "They are not only a Louisiana delicacy, they are a part of our heritage and our way of life," he said.

That observation also applies to residents of coastal Alabama and Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. The Gulf states produce almost two-thirds of the nation's oysters. Roughly half of the oysters taken from Mississippi and Alabama waters are harvested between April and October.

The federal government should redouble its efforts to educate oyster consumers about the bacteria before imposing safety mandates that could seriously harm a $500 million industry. Information combined with personal responsibility could virtually eliminate deaths from the bacteria and leave the timeless rituals of

oystering intact.