WASHINGTON – Via a press release, United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today vowed to fight a new Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal that would end the sale of raw oysters that are not subjected to post-harvest processing techniques. This FDA regulation would adversely affect the state’s oyster industry and could cripple many South Louisiana restaurants that feature oysters on their menus. The proposal would require the oyster to be frozen and then thawed to reduce the risks of diseases.Some complain that the process is expensive and radically changes the taste of the oyster.Cooking oysters kill the Vibrio vulnificus bacterium.According to reports, from May to October, as of 2011, the FDA will put into effect a ban on live, in-the-shell Gulf oysters to reduce illnesses caused by the Vibrio vulnificus bacterium, which is destroyed when oysters are cooked. The pathogen can cause death in people with diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
According to Senator Landrieu, the Louisiana oyster industry currently employs 3,500 Louisianians and has an estimated $318 million impact on the state.
“While the FDA’s goal of protecting consumers from oyster-related illnesses is necessary, this regulation is not the appropriate response. The FDA’s plan would severely burden Louisiana’s oyster industry, putting independent fishermen and mom-and-pop oyster dealers out of business at a time when our economy is facing many challenges,” said Sen. Landrieu. “I will work with other members of the Louisiana Delegation to fight this proposal and to protect our oystermen and related industries that are so critical to our state’s economy”, said Senator Landrieu.
Landrieu said that last year, there were more than 87 million cases of food-related illnesses, 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths. However, only 15 individuals with pre-existing conditions died from eating raw oysters last year.
“The FDA has bigger fish to fry and should let our seafood industry continue to educate consumers about the risks associated with eating raw products. Imposing burdensome federal regulations that may take away 3,500 much-needed jobs in Louisiana is not the answer,” said Sen. Landrieu.
Written by, these are the facts....... Vibrio vulnificus bacterium is not the big problem, E. Coli bacterium is the KILLER... It comes about as a result of fecal choliforms suspended in the water... Oysters are filter feeders... They subsist on diatoms and algae (plant matter).... Of course a person can also contract Hepatitis from 'bad' oysters as well as Salmonella... It all breaks down to water quality and pollution content... Now, concerning the months with no 'R's, this is the oyster spat season... An oyster is asexual... It spends its first year or so as either a male or a female, and then it turns into a female or a male, I forget, anyways, a female oyster can produce several million eggs, then the male emits its 'semen' into the water, a milky substance... During the months with no 'R' generally (here in Louisiana because of water temperatures) an oyster is 'milky' or it is simply a skinny water bladder.... It puts its weight on during the cold water season producing a world class delicacy rivaled only by caviar… In fact, under proper farming conditions and techniques (and a an act of providence) oysters, acre for acre are the biggest cash producing commodity on the face of the earth only being bested by the yield that a marijuana crop can produce on a per acre basis (or opium, take your pick but I am not going to split hairs) Although the Louisiana oyster falls within the genus of Crassostrea virginicus there are many hybrids…. I used to be able to tell where pretty much within a 20 mile radius what oyster beds an oyster in Louisiana came from.. It is very interesting… I ran across one special oyster commonly or locally referred to as a ‘wine oyster’….. You will get many different accounts as to what one is, but right here I will set the record straight… Upon shucking the oyster from its shell, the meat is a rich and vibrant ‘burgundy’ colour…. Interestingly enough, in France, they take green food colouring to ‘dye’ the outer fringes of a shucked oyster for presentation on the dish…. It is still the same oyster, but visual enhancement and the French and all that you know….. Anyways, I was pretty good at identifying a wine oyster before it was shucked. I would generally be able to identify it 9 times out of ten….. It is just something about the shell that I pick up on…. You could hold 30 identical oysters on the outside, but only one of those oysters would be a wine oyster… I do not think it was due to any mineral in the water, if that were the case then all oysters from a bed would possess the same characteristics. It is a hybrid……. This oyster alone would be worth well over $300.00 per sack in the specialty resteraunter market rivaling Chesapeake Bay oysters for fame, or Apalachicola oysters for desirability…. In fact, oyster cultivation could rival the wine industry or the caviar industry where public scrutiny, or connesiours could be concerned…….. Whatever…. Anyways, wherever you have an oyster bed you have life……. Fisheries and the availability and diversity of stocks are increased dramatically… Water quality improves dramatically… With the abundance of oysters which is a naturally replenishing natural resource comes an abundance of available jobs for anyone that desires work…. I don’t care if you are tonging, building boats, building tongs, shucking oysters, processing oysters, transporting oysters, marketing oysters, etc., etc. etc. As well as being a life creator, oysters are also a reef creator which is of vital importance to our coastal erosion problems and salt marsh denigration concerns…. So what if the market slows during the months of no ‘R’s…… Wheat production slows during the months of ‘R’s…. You do not ‘fish’ for oysters, you farm and harvest them… It is a full time job, it is work, it is dedication unless of course you are person that just wants to rape resources, and put nothing back in return until there is nothing left… In the summer there is always the brown shrimp to process, and guess what, oyster beds increase their abundance as well…. To bring the Louisiana oyster into prominence and stature such as the Bordeaux region of Aquitaine is to famous wine-producing regions in France would be an excellent move…. And cost effective… And yes, there are for the most part nothing but selfish jackasses in this industry these days… I was very lucky that I learned oysters under the direction of some of the last of the old timers left in this business or that still had an intimate understanding and respect for oysters… At one time I lived off and on in the oldest structure on the Gulf Coast…. Hurricane Andrew finally took it away back in I guess ’92 I heard … Some famous photographer took pictures of that place along with subjects that lived there, (one interesting person was ‘Capt’. Tony Kristicevich, back in the late 30’s or in the 40’s, and the photos can be seen in some famous book I forget what its name was.. I used to go down to bayou Gyro with his Son Johhny Kristicevich and Billy Vidos who grew up down there in the 40’s and 50’s…. That Billy, he knew oysters like the back of his hand, probably cut his baby teeth on an oyster shell for all I know… Yeah Kp, “Perhaps I'm not seeing "the big picture."” Is a reasonably humble observation on your part… The old ways are the best ways in many instances, but it doesn’t mean that modern technology can’t help those processes along for the better…. Those wind generators for instance, it would be great to use those to help oxygenate the waters, oysters need a lot of oxygen… I heard that the Chesapeake bay was introducing Crassostrea gigas into the waters… Bad move!!!!! Problem with the Chesapeake bay is all the phosphorus run off that is helping to deplete the oxygen levels in the water… I guess Crassostrea gigas is more resistant to the lack of oxygen affecting its physiology…. I don’t know, never really was that interested in that species to investigate it, I just know they are lousy oysters not fit for anything but canning…. Ehh, I could write a book on oyster cultivation, improvements, handling techniques, propagation techniques, marketing, etc. but I am the type that would rather really be doing than reading about it or sitting on the sidelines…. Yeah, I know what, it would be nice to take some of my paycheck that I would make from STRONGCONCRETE above and beyond what I would put back into its building and also provide the new millennium approach to the oyster industry here in Louisiana as well…. I bet I could create within a 10 year period over 2,000 jobs…… Yeah KP, sometimes the Government does need to get involved because it is merely a fact of the citizenry investing in their futures….. That’s what tax dollars are supposed to be, not a punishment but an improvement instead………… Oh, and Mary, leave that bill alone, it is an industry you have no understanding of, and neither do most of the folks that are currently ‘participating’ in have either….. Written by
on 10/30/2009
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The seasonal requirements of this excessive government regulation are no relief. Small oyster suppliers will not be able to exist on seasonal business. Restaurants and other major customers will not be able to switch between large suppliers with the treatment facilities in the summer, and smaller fresh oyster suppliers in the winter. Small suppliers will have to sell to the treatment firms instead of directly to the consumer, meaning higher prices for consumers and lower profit for oystermen. Classic example of government meddling in the free market creating a lose-lose situation. Oh, but it'll be different with health-care. Written by
on 10/30/2009
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No industry should EVER receive a dime of taxpayer money for any reason - OTHER than the taxpayers freely purchasing their products at the price the public is willing to pay. When either political party provides private industry with subsidies it is stealing from the taxpayers. Of course this includes bailouts as well. When our government gives any foreign aid of any kind (medicine, guns, food, whatever) that is also stealing from the public. Government should only spend taxpayer dollars on essential functions for the peolpe of our nation. Government should not determine which companies are winners and losers, only the consumer should do this. As far as lending institutions being "too big to fail" and needing bailouts - that's a load of malarky. If lending institutions KNOW that the government WILL NOT bail them out, they will lend out a smaller percentage of their money and be much more choosy about who they lend money to. It wasn't lack of government regulation that led to this crises rather it was government WANTING these institutions to lend to those who - under more cautious lending practices - would not have been given loans. So they would remain renters until they earned more, big deal; far better than what actually happened. Unfortunately, government's "solution" is - of all things - doing everything in their power to get people to purchase more "big ticket" items like cars and homes. More personal debt aided and abetted by record setting public debt to "solve" a problem caused by excessive debt(?). Perhaps I'm not seeing "the big picture." Written by kpf
on 10/29/2009
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As long as this ban is in effect from May to October, I see no problem with it… Basically oysters are not all that great when harvested during those months being as it is the spat season and they are generally just a huge water boil… A ban may even increase their value in markets in other states… Crassostrea virginicus is a highly prized oyster and grows in areas along the gulf coast and the east coast… There is also Crassostrea gigas which was brought to California as the story goes in the late 1800’s or mid 1900’s… So the story goes that I heard they had come from Korea, and when they arrived in San Francisco it was thought that they had all died and spoiled on the journey… Rather than shovel the oysters overboard, they just left them in the hold of the tramp boat, the boat sank, and as it turns out some of the oysters in the hold were still alive, well they propagated and thrived.. That is the variety that is currently being cultivated near the northern “California coast and up to Oregon and Washington.. I have had exposure to them on several excursions out to the west coast doing market studies… It is an inferior oyster to the Crassostrea virginicus, and they it look like knurled Brazil nuts, and they smell fishy-fishy-fishy and kelpy-kelpy-kelpy… A very disagreeable oyster when compared to a Golden Meadow Oyster (a very golden colored flesh, very firm, very tasty, good odor, good sheen, very presentable as a counter oyster) or a Bayou Giro Oyster (the Bayou Giro Oyster or the Bayou Du West Oyster is the Cadillac of oysters, (I’m only saying this because if people from New Orleans can have an attitude and talk about unique, I can have an attitude when it comes to oysters that I know are unique) I know because I have tonged, harvested and culled boatloads of those critters…. Lived on the Gulf coast in my camp boat off and on for more than just several years… In as far as conservation measures and actual oyster farming/techniques go, the months with an R you harvest, the months with no R’s you bed oysters, plant oysters, move oysters, or provide oyster seed….. But under no circumstances should she allow the FDA to tell us that oysters have to be frozen between October and April… One thing that killed the shucked oyster business (for anyone that is a true oyster connoisseur) and destroyed the taste was the skimming table ordered by law in the late 1980’s.. And procedures for oyster depuration just went crazy… Mary, leave this alone…… In the long run you will be doing oyster lease holders and harvesters a favor… And the restaurants. Well, perhaps they can figure out how to put “Oysters when in season” on the menu…. Gawd knows they already sell the damn things on a half shell for 8 times more than what they paid for them, and no mom and pop operation and no harvester or lease holder is getting that kind of money…… The oyster industry is vital to some in Louisiana, it is a respected and time honored tradition… I would rather see the oyster industry get top dollar than see the industry get shut down…. Oh it is just more rhetoric and arguments… An oyster is one of the top luxuries that Louisiana has to offer the world, and far more valuable than mere po’boys or gumbo, or even the Saints…. Written by
on 10/29/2009
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The only difference between Mary and Vitter , is Mary will stand up like a leader and not run and hide time after time. Vitter voted for hugh farm subsidies and never complains about the corporate welfare Jindal has been passing out. Vitter has shown he will out right lie to us and that he has a habit on calling on others to do and live by standards that he will not do himself. Louisiana is one of the poorest states in the country and if you look at the ratio of Jindal's spending in Louisiana versus Obama spending for the nation they are not that far apart. How can anyone support the people that gave 50 million to a out of state chicken company that will be competing unfairly with the other chicken company in our state that did not get any state money , and then complain about Obama ? Vitter, Mary and Jindal need to go but I think all three will be re-elected again and that is something to cry over. Written by Cry over this
on 10/29/2009
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Since some people have severe reactions from eating any form of shellfish, why not ban these as well. Many people die from vehicle mishaps so let's ban driving too. Written by Charlie Stogner
on 10/29/2009
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In politics, there is no such thing as coincidence. Nothing is what they want you to believe it is. Written by
on 10/29/2009
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You're right .. I had not connected those dots. So, the annointed one is playing the part of a bully, eh? What happened to "hope not fear"? Written by kpf
on 10/29/2009
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Hmmmm. Just when Reid needs Landrieu on health care, Obama's FDA threatens to destroy the oyster industry. Or could her "saving" us from this trumped up threat be a distraction over her upcoming health care votes? Politics sure has a lot of coincidences, doesn't it? Time will tell. Written by
on 10/29/2009
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Get rid of Landrieu, the democrat majority, and the democrat president and you won't have to worry about this kind of BS at all. Written by
on 10/29/2009
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However accurate your assessment of Mary Landrieu may be ... isn't "issues" more important then "personalities?" Perhaps I'm wrong but the issues (in this case, "public safety vs. jobs" or .... "individual freedom {risk} vs. 'nanny' government") seem to get lost due to individual politician's personality traits. I cannot help but think how we would discuss Germany allowing Hitler to go from Chancellor to dictator. Would we discuss the issue of the oath he swore to protect the German constitution or would we discuss members of the Reichstag's individual personal failings? I cannot help but think that the policies, programs, taxes, deficit spending, "foreign entanglements", etc. that our government enacts is far more important than the self-serving motives or sexual escapades of elected officials. Perhaps a case of "not seeing the forest for the trees?" Written by kpf
on 10/29/2009
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Senator Mary L. Landrieu is only looking after herself and Like Vitter she needs to go. The only reason she won re-election is for what ever reason the republican party picked kennedy a loser democrat to run against her. I can only hope that a democrat challenges her next election because I think the republican leaders wanted to keep her in office. I mean why else pick such a loser as Kennedy to swap parties and run against Mary , when they could have run Republican Steve Scalise and won. Written by Cry over this
on 10/28/2009
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