NEWS : Proposed Oyster Rules Vetoed

A bold federal proposal essentially banning sales of raw oysters from the Gulf of Mexico during warm weather months has been rejected by the task force of coastal state officials and seafood industry representatives that sets national policy for shellfish harvesting.

The plan, devised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, was tabled at the recent annual meeting of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The FDA had proposed that oysters harvested from the gulf between April and October be shucked, placed in containers and labeled with a warning to cook fully before eating.

The sweeping precaution was considered necessary because of severe illnesses and deaths from Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial contaminant that has been traced primarily to raw gulf oysters, especially during warm weather months. Fishing interests referred to the FDA proposal as the “raw ban.”

There are no national figures on the number of illnesses or deaths caused by V. vulnificus, but an estimated 4% of the population is considered at high risk for the infection, including those suffering from liver disease, diabetes, cancer, immune disorders like HIV infection and hemochromatosis.

An estimated 30 million pounds of shucked oyster meat is harvested annually from states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. The economic impact on the fishery is estimated at $200 million annually to the region.

The Interstate Conference is a hybrid regulatory body that attempts to bring the public and private sectors together to oversee the shellfish industry. Health officials from coastal states and the federal government are the only voting members but industry representatives serve on all conference committees and are instrumental in drafting programs and regulations. The states are then responsible for enforcing rules.

In place of the original FDA proposal, conference delegates passed a resolution that would require Gulf oyster harvesters and processors to adopt refrigerated storage requirements for shellfish depending on water temperature. In other words, the warmer the weather, the sooner the oysters would have to be refrigerated at 45 degrees. On the hottest days, or at 85 degrees and above, the fishermen would have a maximum of six hours to get the shellfish under refrigeration either on their own boats, at the nearest port or at some intermediate point, like another refrigerated boat.

In a recent letter, a top FDA official said the agency would--for now--cooperate with the conference on the time and temperature regulations. Patricia S. Schwartz at the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition cautioned, however, that “if these combined efforts do not reduce illnesses and deaths, FDA will be forced to examine other controls.”

Consumer advocates active in seafood safety issues were more critical.

“After years of inaction, the ISSC has taken its first step toward regulating shellfish to control the deadly Vibrio vulnificus bacteria. However, the step it has chosen is so feeble that it is likely to have little public health significance,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington. “The refrigeration requirements adopted by the ISSC will allow the deadly bacteria to multiply while shellfish sit on board boats [for up to six hours].”

Smith DeWaal said that if V. vulnificus is present in harvested oysters, it could rapidly multiply by 10 to 100 times in the six hours before refrigeration became necessary under the new regulations.

“This watered-down compromise shows the overwhelming influence that the shellfish industry has on the [ISSC],” she said.

California health officials, who have required that Gulf of Mexico oysters carry a point-of-sale warning about V. vulnificus since 1991, were also hesitant to endorse the new oyster time and temperature requirements.

“Even though the oysters will be under refrigeration at some point after harvesting, there is still an initial [amount] of V. vulnificus in the water,” said Christopher Wogee, shellfish program coordinator for California’s Department of Health Services. “To most people, the bacteria is harmless but we still do not know the infectious doses for [high-risk individuals],”

In any event, refrigeration does not kill V. vulnificus and only stalls its growth, said Wogee, who attended the meeting.

“We have some reservations about whether the ISSC plan will be effective,” Wogee said. “It wasn’t shown to be a scientifically proven method of reducing the risk of V. vulnificus. And we are concerned that if the regulation doesn’t work, then we may have to take alternatives [to protect consumers] in California.”

There have been four cases of V. vulnificus infection--with three fatalities--in California this year, he said.

On the other hand, industry representatives say the original FDA plan was a bad idea that was unenforceable.

“Their proposal would have created tremendous disruption in the Gulf of Mexico while not covering other [harvesting] areas with similar problems,” said Chris Nelson, vice president of Bon Secour Fisheries, Inc., in Bon Secour, Ala.

Nelson said oyster boat owners are just now addressing how to comply with the new regulation and that it will be a major burden for the industry. There are about 1,500 boats harvesting oysters among the gulf states. Few of these vessels, he says, have refrigeration on board to store the shellfish. The result of the regulation will be that harvesting will come to a halt on days when water temperatures hit the 85-degree ceiling. Or oysters that are collected on hot days will be diverted to cooked product.

In the meantime, the FDA has published a consumer-oriented booklet entitled, “If You Eat Oysters, You Need to Know . . . “ The publication explains the Vibrio vulnificus threat, lists those at particular risk and offers handling and cooking instructions. To obtain a copy, call the FDA Seafood Hotline at (800) 332-4010.