Group Warns of Uncooked Oysters

By PHILIP BRASHER
.c The Associated Press

 
WASHINGTON (AP) - A consumer advocacy group warned against eating oysters from the Gulf of Mexico unless they have been cooked or treated to kill bacteria blamed for 15 to 20 deaths a year.

``Consumers can't afford to wait any longer for industry action,'' said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The Food and Drug Administration, however, says the only consumers who need to avoid raw Gulf oysters are people especially vulnerable to the bacteria, such as diabetics, people with liver disease or suppressed immune systems.

``The FDA's advice has been and continues to be that people who are at high risk should not eat raw oysters,'' said Joseph Levitt, FDA's food safety chief.

Based on government reports, there were at least 85 deaths related to the bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, from 1996 through 2000, including 16 last year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest said Monday. The cases are concentrated in the Gulf states.

In high-risk individuals, the bacteria cause a blood infection that is fatal in half the cases. For healthy people, the bacteria may cause an upset stomach.

The FDA supports a plan being considered by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference, a coalition of states that sets standards for the industry, to cut the infection rate by 40 percent by the end of 2006 and 60 percent by the end of 2008.

Antibacterial treatment could be required if the illness-reduction targets are not met.

Altogether there are about 76 million cases of foodborne illness diagnosed nationwide each year, resulting in 5,000 deaths and 325,000 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The oyster bacteria are found primarily in the Gulf during warm months because they don't tolerate cold water.

According to CSPI, restaurants and stores should not buy Gulf Coast shellfish that have been harvested from April through October unless they have been treated to kill the bacteria, and consumers should not eat raw oysters, clams or mussels unless they have been treated.

The group also urged the Food and Drug Administration to set microbial standards for shellfish and to limit the regulatory authority of the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference.

``Quite simply, the shellfish industry and its home-state regulators, which dominate the ISSC, have proven that they cannot police themselves,'' CSPI said in a report.

Some high-risk individuals don't realize they would be susceptible to the bacteria, the group says.

An industry organization defended the safety of oysters. ``The oyster industry has taken a lead in advancing new technologies and educating consumers who may be at risk,'' said Teddy Busick, chairman of the Gulf Oyster Industry Council.

However, a few restaurants and retailers no longer buy untreated Gulf oysters. The Red Lobster restaurant chain, for example, serves oysters that have been treated with heat.

On the Net: Center for Science in the Public Interest: http://www.cspinet.org

ISSC: http://www.issc.org

FDA advice: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/ 7/8mow/chap10.html

AP-NY-07-09-01 1810EDT

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