Plan for oysters by kristina leskova

Food and Drug administration plans to ban sale of raw oysters from Gulf of Mexico. Why? Because they are worried about the health of citizen. Oysters from this area include potentially deadly bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. This bacterium can be found in warm coastal waters between April and October. The statistics say that many people die due to this bacterium. Endangered are people with weak immune system, people who suffer from liver or kidney disease, cancer or AIDS. But the Gulf region supplies two thirds of US oysters and this could cause severe problems. The sellers argue that they do enough to prevent the death of people. They installed refrigeration on oyster boats an! d posted warnings in restaurants. And many sellers do not have money for further measure. The sales ban should take effect in 2011 for oysters harvested in Gulf during warm months. The officials suggest that these oysters need antibacterial process that is similar to pasteurization, uses mild heat, freezing temperatures, high pressure and low dose of gamma radiation. The sellers protest that this process will change the taste of oysters. And they are worried that people who like eating oyster will not want to eat this kind of oysters. People like oysters for its salty, refreshing and slightly slimy taste. Some people add a drop of horseradish, lemon or hot sauce for extra taste. The officials want to ban the sale because the people do not know that they are vulnerable and they could die. And they claim that treating oysters will have the same taste and they could save our lives. But isn’t it just another step how to decrease the number of competitors? There are few! sellers who invested money into new treatment technologies an! d they a gree with the plan. But most of the sellers are dissatisfied.

related story (sgx15741): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091027/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fda_oyste...

by kristina leskova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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