Safe Seafood : Unsafe Seafood: The Risks Are High

Two recent local deaths attributed to contaminated Gulf of Mexico oysters have prompted state health officials to renew a warning to high risk groups about the dangers of eating that region’s shellfish raw or undercooked.

The victims, both Los Angeles County residents, were infected with Vibrio vulnificus, a disease-causing bacteria frequently associated with the warm Gulf waters.

Since March, 1991, California has required that all markets and restaurants that sell Gulf Coast oysters prominently display a warning sign alerting those at risk of the dangers in eating the raw mollusks. People considered susceptible to V. vulnificus include cancer and AIDS patients, those suffering from liver diseases such as cirrhosis, diabetics and those taking immunosuppressant drugs. Symptoms of V. vulnificus include fever, chills, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain and can be manifested within 24 hours of ingesting contaminated oysters.

The recent fatalities occurred in middle-aged males with liver complications. The time span between consumption, the onset of symptoms and death was three days. Both ate Louisiana oysters at outlets that did not carry the mandatory warning signs. Art Tilzer, consumer protection director for the county’s Health Services Department, said the purchases were made at Tampico restaurant in Maywood and El Oasis Fish Market restaurant in La Puente. The restaurants face misdemeanor charges that carry up to a $1,000 fine or a six-month jail sentence.

“We are considering taking a more forceful stance on the need to carry the oyster warning signs including criminal prosecution of those in violation of the regulation,” he said.

There are 20,000 food facilities in Los Angeles County, and Tilzer said as many as 3,000 may be selling Gulf oysters. An estimated 5 million pounds of oysters are sold each year in California, and industry officials say 40% or more are of Gulf origin.

Any V. vulnificus bacteria that may be present in oysters is destroyed when the shellfish are heated to an internal temperature of 145 degrees.

Gulf Coast seafood interests have maintained that California has unfairly singled out their products as dangerous.

“The (warning) regulation is making people feel safe about eating other raw protein foods that are not from the Gulf,” said Mike Voisin, vice president of Motivatit Seafoods, Inc., of Houma, LA. “The fact is that high-risk individuals should not consume any raw protein and that includes oysters, mussels and clams from the East Coast, West Coast, Mexico, Chile and Australia . . . It’s a concern beyond the Gulf Coast because V. vulnificus is found all over the world. “

“This is about (educating) people with health problems,” he said. “An oyster is a carrier of a normally harmless marine bacteria. And if you are in reasonably good health then you could eat unbelievable amounts and not have a problem.”

A state health official said that California has not singled out the Gulf but that “it just so happens that the (oysters) with V. vulnificus bacteria are the ones from the Gulf Coast.”

“Our position is that all shellfish should be cooked regardless of where it comes from but especially those that come from the Gulf because of V. vulnificus and the potential consequences,” said Frank Nava, field operations chief for the state’s Food and Drug Branch in Sacramento.

A report issued by the state last week went even further, stating that “no Vibrio vulnificus -related illnesses have been associated with consumption of oysters from the cold water growing beds of California and the Pacific Northwest.”