The FDA proposed regulations today to ban the sale of live oysters from the Gulf of Mexico between the months of May and October. Under the proposed regulation, in order to sell oysters during those months the oysters must be processed to kill the Vibrio Vulnificus bacterium. The oyster industry will fight this tooth and nail and try to claim that the vibrio bacteria poses little threat to the general public. But according to microbiologist, Jim Oliver, Ph.D., the vibrio bacteria infects approximately 90,000 people a who eat raw oysters. And if the bacteria gets into your blood stream you have a fifty percent chance of dying and if you live you generally lose your legs. California enacted a law several years ago banning the sale of oysters from the Gulf unless they were treated and since its enactment no Californian has died from eating oysters.

While the FDA’s proposed regulation will do nothing to protect my clients who have lost loved ones or lost limbs. It will protect the general public against this vicious bacteria and save countless lives in the future.

For more information visit vibrio-lawyer.com

Updated 11/17/09

The FDA has caved to pressures from the oyster industry and has backed off its’ proposal to regulate oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico.

The FDA has decided it needs to conduct further studies into regulating the industry. It need look no further than the oyster industry’s own studies which demonstrate that the general public is unaware of the dangers posed by eating raw oysters. Furthermore, the industry itself, which knows exactly how deadly eating their oysters can be, has proposed its own timeline to pasteurize oysters to make them safe for consumption.

It is time for health officials to stop caving into this industry and demand that oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico be pasteurized to make them safe for consumption.