Raw Gulf Oysters Are Served With a Health Warning

Federal health officials are urging consumers to refrain from eating raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico for much of the year because of possible bacterial contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently recommended thorough cooking of any Gulf Coast oysters that are harvested between April and October. The advisory, however, is likely to lessen enthusiasm for the shellfish because many are eaten, in fact, on-the-half-shell or raw.

This latest action is yet another setback for the seafood industry, which has repeatedly faced questions from Congress and consumer groups about the safety of fishery products.

According to food folklore, it was thought safe to eat the uncooked, tangy bivalves in any month containing the letter r . Now, however, the emergence of Vibrio vulnificus , has led the agency to partially amend that conventional wisdom for, at least, the Gulf species, according to a report in FDA Consumer magazine.

A ‘Mortal Threat’

“ V. vulnificus can cause illness in normally healthy individuals and poses the mortal threat of septicemia, or blood poisoning, to high-risk people,” the article stated.

Groups who are particularly vulnerable to the bacterium are those with liver diseases and related problems such as alcohol abuse, people suffering from iron imbalances and individuals with weakened immune systems such as cancer or AIDS patients.

The organism, first identified in 1975, was responsible for 60 illnesses and 36 deaths in the last decade. The number of cases, however, is “significantly underreported,” according to FDA officials.

Known symptoms of the illness include abrupt onset of chills, fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

More than half of the nation’s supply of these increasingly popular shellfish, or about 20 million pounds of shucked meat, come from the Gulf of Mexico. Sales of oysters from the region were estimated at about $46 million last year.

What impact the government’s recommendation will have is uncertain. However, one federal estimate claimed that as much as 40% of all Gulf oysters harvested during the April-October period contain V. vulnificus.

A New Pathogen

As a relatively new pathogen, there is much about V. vulnificus that’s unknown. Still puzzling scientists is why the organism, which is also found in Atlantic and Pacific Ocean oysters, seems to only cause illnesses when present in Gulf oysters. Further, it has yet to be ascertained what role, if any, warm water plays in the bacterium’s development.

In addition to its public warning, the FDA is also urging Gulf oystermen to improve handling and processing techniques.

“That . . . means keeping the oysters clean and cool and getting them from the water to the consumer’s stomach as fast as possible,” according to FDA Consumer.

Health officials believe that improper storage temperatures and long transit periods may contribute to the health risk posed by any V. vulnificus present in oysters.

One possible solution for increasing Gulf oysters’ safety would be to purge the shellfish of toxins before they enter retail channels. The method, considered too costly at present, involves placing the bivalves in salt-water tanks long enough so that any contaminants would be removed by continual infusion of clean water.

One health official familiar with the Gulf oyster situation says that healthy individuals are at little risk from eating the shellfish raw.

When to Eat, When Not to Eat

“Use common sense,” said Richard Thompson, director of the Texas shellfish sanitation control division. “If you have a health problem then don’t eat oysters raw. But if you are healthy and in good shape, then the risk of eating oysters now is no greater than it would be in December.”

A spokeswoman for the National Fisheries Institute, a trade group, said that eating any uncooked food may pose a risk.

“We feel strongly that when eating raw seafoods, or any raw foods in general, that the consumer should understand the risk and that they should cook (the items) before they are eaten,” said the Institute’s Clare Vanderbeek.

In the past, the FDA has also issued statements warning against eating fish or shellfish that is raw or undercooked.

Oyster Warning Label?--The current FDA focus is fueled by a recent court decision in which a judge ruled that the state of Louisiana was liable for damages resulting from a case of septicemia linked to consumption of the state’s oysters.

The ruling stated, in part, that Louisiana was “has the power and responsibility to warn, and should have warned, the man (who became ill) and the public about the dangers of eating raw oysters,” FDA reported.

A proposal to label shipments of Louisiana oysters with a health warning was, in fact, brought forward at a recent meeting of government and seafood industry officials in Denver, according to Food Chemical News.

Even so, the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference voted down the effort in favor of a public education campaign that would address the V. vulnificus risk.

Primary objection to a warning label was the fact that most consumers would not see the information because it would be written on wholesale containers. The group, instead, voted to study a more effective method.

A summary of the conference’s recommendation on the issue, as reported in Food Chemical News, stated:

“Public information targeted at consumers, physicians and public health professionals may be the most appropriate avenue to pursue, since the incidence of infection appears to be related to individuals with chronic underlying medical conditions . . . a small ‘at risk’ population.”

Banned From Boston--Yet another shellfish problem surfaced recently, but this time the episode involved soft-shell clams from Maryland. This case, however, pitted one state’s health department against another state’s fishermen.

Massachusetts officials expanded the number of Maryland firms that are banned from shipping clams into the New England state because of waste-water contamination, Food Chemical News reported.

The recent additions bring to five the total number of seafood dealers who are prohibited from shipping soft shell clams into Massachusetts. The brokers were cited for selling shellfish found to contain high fecal coliform counts, an indication that the clams were harvested from waters with measurable sewage.

“Samples taken from the embargoed dealers’ product showed fecal coliform levels as high as 24,000 per 100 grams, the highest level measurable with existing methods. Under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program, counts above 230 per 100 grams put a product out of compliance,” an article in the newsletter stated.

Supply and Demand--As if the chronic problems of poor quality and contamination were not enough, segments of the seafood industry are also suffering from sharp price reductions on several important commodities.

The declines are being attributed to consumer resistance to high prices coupled with an increased catch, according to Seafood Leader, a trade magazine.

Those commodities hardest hit include cod, halibut, turbot and medium-sized shrimp.

“Consumers in both Europe and the U.S. have sent a clear message that enough is enough--prices are just too high, no matter how good fish is for you,” reports Seafood Leader. “Cod has taken the biggest dive.”

Wholesale prices for cod, one of the most popular fin fish, are down about 25% from only six months ago. At the same time, landings of the fish, particularly in Norway and Iceland, are up. The amount of frozen cod in storage is such that several trade groups are planning an advertising campaign to persuade consumers that the fish is as good prepared baked as it is fried, according to the magazine.

Halibut, both frozen and fresh, is down compared to wholesale price levels existing at this same time last year. Costs for Canadian and Alaskan halibut have, in fact, dropped about 30% in wholesale markets.

Quality problems with Greenland turbot are responsible for depressing its price, the article stated.

And medium-sized shrimp is dropping in price, the magazine states, because of increased production at aquaculture ventures, or fish farms, in Ecuador.

The situation for salmon, another important commodity, is “uncertain,” the report states. Much depends on the success of the Alaskan salmon fishing season, which is now in full swing.

Yet to be determined is whether these lower wholesale prices for seafood will be passed on to consumers by the supermarket industry.