Vibrio vulnificus, (which sounds like something from a Lemony Snicket book, but which is actually the name of a bacteria that comes along for the ride in warm-water Gulf of Mexico oysters,) kills about 15 people a year. Most of the cases are people with compromised immune systems. The FDA wanted to ban the oysters while looking in to ways to process them in order to decrease the number of deaths.
The options, however, aren't tasty. Anti-bacterial processing allegedly makes the oysters pretty much suck and is expensive.
Lest you think the FDA was being paranoid, apparently dying of Vibrio vulnificus is pretty damn awful:
As a public health agency, the FDA is committed to identifying reasonable and workable approaches to reduce unnecessary suffering and death from preventable causes. The FDA staff work every day with state and local counterparts around the country to stop outbreaks of all types of infectious disease. Illnesses from bacteria like Vibrio vulnificus are particularly important to prevent because they can cause loss of skin, kidney failure, amputations, excruciating pain, and death.
They had our attention at loss of skin.
In any case, the FDA says the concerns of the oyster-eaters as well as the economy that needs them to survive are legitimate.
The agency looks forward to working with Gulf Coast officials and industry to accomplish the goal of protecting consumers from Vibrio vulnificus in a manner that is feasible and minimizes impacts on the oyster industry.
FDA Statement on Vibrio Vulnificus in Raw Oysters [FDA]
Oyster fans force FDA to back off seasonal ban [MSNBC]
(Photo:tjean314)
I meant more worried about the number of fried s than raw s. The amount of fried food we eat has got to be of more concern than raw oysters.
BTW, I went to Boss Oyster. Definitely enjoyed them.
]]>Clearly, the 5 gallon buckets are out to get us.
But not as much as TYLENOL - over 450 deaths a year!
But in reality, I'm guessing that the dry cleaning bag people are putting this news out to obscure the fact that 15 children a year die from their bags. I think that the coincidence is no coincidence!
]]>Chances are good that the deaths are the tip of the pyramid, as it were. The rest of the infected eaters merely had excruciating pain and/or loss of skin.
]]>So let me get this straight... bacteria is a naturally occuring thing. There is pretty much nothing you can do about the crazy mutating bastards. Totally natural, yet we are going to worry about someone dying of it? Then there is snowboarding, surfing, etc, (which I think are all awesome) man made sports where people hurdle toward the ground at crazy speeds and this is not a problem?
Just leave well enough alone!!!
]]>This is called natural selection. If people are stupid enough to eat potentially bacterially contaminated oysters, let them go ahead and improve the gene pool.
]]>Oh, you got nothin on me bb. When I actually bought steak to cook at home, back in the Dark Ages, I would slice off nice little hunks of raw meat, add salt/pepper, and chomp away. YUM.
]]>@alangryphon: Texting and talking on the cell phone kill far more per year than that and those have yet to be banned. Why oysters? Don't 5 gallon buckets kill that many kids or more per year???
]]>People were making and eating cheese for hundreds of years before ole Louie came around, and for those of us who like cheese, especially the funky kind, it really does taste better.
Stop trying to make it illegal, just slap a warning label on it so some dipstick pregnant lady (who shouldn't be eating veined cheeses anyway) doesn't get into it. Let the rest of us take the chance if we want to. The market has already proven that there is a comfortable niche market for artisan cheese makers to sell their unpasteurized wares.
]]>I see no evidence that even the most radical warnings on products make any difference to consumers.
Look at the highly disturbing warnings, with photos, on cigarettes in Canada.
Doesn't do dick.
]]>Like smoking, you should be able to eat raw oysters if you think the chances of a horrific death are worth taking that risk.
...but seriously, I can't think of many things more gross than raw oysters. Yuck.
]]>I thought it was an oyster but it'snot. Love them though.
]]>That's the trick to eating raw oysters. Never never think "booger" before you slurp. They're actually quite good, living in a completely landbound state now, I really miss the Oyster Bar in New Orleans. :+(
]]>way to keep the focus, FDA!
]]>@Xeos: I don't know about the japanese ones after taking the trip over to here though. Sure over there, but I want mine to travel a bit less.
]]>@Coelacanth: In the entire country there may be a small percentage of oyster eaters, but in those states on the water the percentage goes up. I would say we can all assume that at least 100,000 people eat them once a year (pretty small number really) and if only 15 of those die, that would be a very small percentage still.
]]>@willystyle: I want a job
]]>If short, Salmonella and E Coli are showing up everywhere because there are basically 5 main meat processing plants and they make everything from "high grade" beef to cheap hot dogs with the same equipment. The people are highly untrained and they are fired/rewarded on the amount of meat they process, so they often put terrible rotting beef in with other meat just so they can have more meat all go at once. They fudge the cleaning books for the inspectors, and the inspectors know it. There's a bunch more to it, but basically, the plants aren't clean, which is why there's so much disease in our food.
]]>I'm not sure where I'm going with this, I'm just surprised nobody mentioned House yet,
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Ah Pie I think you missed the point. Some of us find raw oysters pretty gross and although only 15 oyster lovers won't effect the gene pool much the process of weeding out those who like the taste and tecture of oysters does start with those 15. But hey whatever floats your boat. I saw people eat balute in the PI ( the egg with legs) now thats gross.
]]>Well...if any of you folks knew what was in those bays, you might not want to eat them, no matter how good they taste. Tons of raw sewage from overdevelopment run-off, inadequate waste systems, and out-and-out direct toilet dumps from EVERY recreational vessel with a toilet hold (given that finding a dock-side waste pump station is incredibly difficult). Oysters being harvested in areas where no one would dream of swimming. I mean, would you eat beef that had been swiped across the chef's ass before cooking? It won't necessarily make you sick if that happened, but it's not something anyone really wants to eat.
]]>Still, @lacubsfan was misusing the term.
]]>@2 replies by: I think that may be a little weak. It implies typical food poisoning. It reminds me of the overly-technical language on cigs. They need to be more clear. "Eating Raw Seafood can make you sick or even kill you."
]]>@willystyle: I gotta jump on this bandwagon - before my Mom became a health nut, she would split hot dogs down the middle, fill them with cheddar cheese, wrap them in bacon & hold the whole thing together with toothpicks...into the broiler and YUMMMM!!! They were awesome.
]]>@The Porkchop Express: @treimel: I certainly agree with you there, but I don't really believe the proportion of people who eat raw oysters in the US is very high to begin with...
Now, if it became a cultural phenomenon, depending on what that rate happens to be, those numbers could skyrocket tremendously. Perhaps nitpicking, but simply stating that by sampling your acquaintances, you know 15-16% eat raw oysters is subject to strong selection bias.
On the otherhand, the odds of getting other catastrophes - car crashes, lightning strikes, dying from some infectious / inherited disease - are far more universal, as it'd be very, very difficult to avoid the personal risk entirely and still be a member of society.
]]>If Obama is gonna have me pay for your insurance.
Then I say outlaw every food/beverage that can harm you, aka make you fat.
outlaw beer cause I don't want to pay for you to be on life support after a guardrail goes through your head.
Also I am not to keen of any vehicle other than maybe trains going over 15 miles per hour, and being made of anything that cannot be loaded into a nerf crossbow.
Alternative I want all cars loaded with 16 ounces of nitro glycerine, drum breaks, 500+ hp, no crumple zones, and a 10-gauge steel dash
Any random event that can be avoided should be taken legally as opting out of medical treatment.
"jaywalking, climbing, contact sports,golfing with out a helmet."
Alternative, jaywalkers cars are now equipped with 9 inch steel barbs
climbers would tether to their necks and golfers would replace golf balls with hand grenades.
@rosvicl: There's a local fakebake shop near me that calls itself a "Tannery" I always have to chuckle. After all, a Tannery is a place where you historically took skins to turn them into leather.
Appropriate maybe, but I don't think that's the image they want associated with their product. :)
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Sorry, I was thinking back to this article on the subject that I read a few weeks ago.
In it, they state that most folks affected have a condition such as AIDS, Kidney Disease or Alcholism.
To be clear, I'm not picking on folks cause they have a disease of some type. I just think that if you know you have a problem of this nature and still make the decision to eat foods that are risky even for healthy folks then you are making an informed decision and the government shouldn't have much involvement.
All things considered, the FDAs efforts could be better focused on issues that effect larger populations.
]]>Raw oysters are good, but I prefer fried oysters in butter.
]]>The sun also causes melanoma, but we shouldn't HAVE to wear sunscreen or carry parasols or stay indoors.
(Yes I know it's the FDA we're talking about and that the sun is not a foodstuff, but this is just an example.)
We do NOT need a new law for every stupid person that burns themselves or every sickly/weak person who dies because they couldn't handle a food-borne illness.
The government has enough power as it is.
(And in some cases, TOO much. ...thanks W. >_< )
I'm glad someone is telling a government agency to STFU.
We should be able to tell other agencies the same, more often.
(Thanks for humoring my rant)
]]>Clearly these are people who would otherwise run up large medical expenses due tot their condition, very likely costing the taxpayers dearly. Oysters are just doing their patriotic duty.
]]>What?
]]>Oh, and I adore raw oysters and also raw littlenecks (hardshell coldwater clams). It makes me sad that they can be dangerous.
]]>@Coelacanth: having the cancer burnt off, pain.
check.
]]>@Coelacanth: hell of a lot more than 15. Shit, I know 15 people that I know for a fact eat oysters a couple of times a year. and I do too so, 16 people. now, if I know 100 people, 16 of which I KNOW eat oysters, I can assume that probably 20 of them actually eat the things.
I'm not saying everybody in the US eats oysters, but you see where the numbers would be large enough that 15 ain't that big a number.
]]>Not all of them, or even most of them, but all of them are *capable* of consuming a raw oyster--the point is, the total population is always an appropriate metric to use in that it doesn't matter (from a global risk-asessment view) if some of the reduced risk comes from the population's behavior.
Moreover, there's only one stat I really am basing my argument on: 15 people. That's simply not a meaningful number.
@winshape: try this...bacon and salsa on your hot dog.
]]>How in the world have I not tried that yet?
]]>Kumamoto oysters are less likely to kill you!
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: Increased risk of skin cancer.
Death, check!
]]>@treimel: I think your statistics are flawed. How many people in the US eat oysters in a given year?
]]>@rosvicl: Because those valley girls and pre-teens need somewhere to make themselves look amazing, damnit!
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: I recall talking about a subsection of natural selection / sexual selection which talked about how being in the best shape would actually help you win in evolutionary terms.
Of course thousands of years ago good shape meant better hunter, women were attracted to better hunters as it meant they could provide for her and her baby, thus being in good shaspe = more sexually attractive and better equipped to pass on your genes. Though we do far less hunting htese days the mind is still pre-disposed to pick out healthy and youthful mates for a better chance of procreating
]]>@rosvicl: You forgot the "excruiciating pain" and "death" parts.
]]>Jeez, between nannies and lawyers there's going to be nothing fun to do or yummy to eat really soon.
]]>@dadelus: "Compromised immune system" doesn't mean you have a disease. It can also refer to the fact that you're 80 years old and old age has made you more susceptible to a common cold.
It's when your body's immune system is not working at its optimal - it doesn't mean you've got a disease.
People who have a week of poor sleep potentially have a compromised immune system, a person recovering from the flu has a compromised immune system, sometimes people whose allergies are acting up can have a compromised immune system.
Compromised immune system is not the same as an underlying condition.
]]>Hog Island/Tomalas Bay north of SF is 3 hrs away, 4 by scenic route through Napa.
Nice, crispy, cucumbery!
Oh, and sustainable, clean... forget Mexican oysters. Likely only good for BBQ, and then what is the issue?
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: I beg to differ. If those 15 people know they have a disease that compromises their immune system and continue to eat foods that are known to be risky even for folks with uncompromised immune systems then I think they qualify as idiots. Unfortunate idiots at that.
]]>300 million people total
deaths from oysrers: 15 people annually--most with *compromised immune systems*.
Note to FDA: please get some training in (take your pick): epidemiology, statistics, actuarial science, heck, any science for that matter. Now find a real risk out there.
]]>@trujunglist:
Or at my house- where we started doing it AFTER SEEING VENDORS IN LA DO IT.
Wow, full circle, huh?
]]>I meant, this is the place that saw a crawfish crawling out of the mud, tossed it in a pot, and started adding pepper until it tasted good.
Hmm, actually... that's how we do all of our cooking.
]]>it's pretty popular in the southwest in general, but until recently, the only place i really saw it frequently was in mexico. now i see them on the street corners, and especially near bars so the drunk-n-hungry crowd can get their munch on.
]]>@lacubsfan: It's aggravating when people point to 'natural selection' when that's not what it was supposed to mean at all. Natural selection refers to genetic and heritable traits that predispose certain peoples to be better off genetically. Natural selection (or survival of the fittest) doesn't refer to the people who are in the best shape or the most physically strong.
For that matter, oysters aren't bad for you - it's the bacteria that's bad for you. So 15 people who die in the year aren't idiots - they're just unfortunate.
]]>@JediJohn82: Maybe they could tax oysters? God I hope they don't though.
]]>@SkokieGuy: +2.
I shake my tiny fork at the government. Get away from my oysters!
]]>Go ahead and eat em! It's called survival of the fittest.... natural selection.... Darwinism.
Poison food is yummy!
That's 15 less idiots in the world a year :)
]]>If the ban goes through, maybe raw oyster lovers can console themselves with a legal cigarette.
]]>@coffeeculture: Wait, someone was putting bacon on grilled hot dogs? And that got banned? Why on earth would the government do that? It's bacon! On hot dogs! Two of my favorite foods!
/glad she doesn't live in LA.
]]>Don't worry, everyone; we're from the government, and we're here to ruin your...I mean, help!
]]>Chinese restaurants are getting shut down over violations from their 2000 year old processes; and now you can't even get a grilled hot dog with bacon in LA due to overzealous health departments.
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: there may be a pearl of wisdom in there somwhere.
]]>@ClutchDude: They have, it's just that it's expensive and makes the oysters taste funny.
]]>@The Porkchop Express: At least they'e not clamming up about the problem.
]]>@VidaBlueBalls: if they would just shell out the money to fis this problem.
]]>@ubermex: I see tons of signs everywhere about the risk in eating these. you can also get Hepititis from them I guess.
]]>@VidaBlueBalls: You win!
]]>@Jon Parker: I have eaten oysters for nearly all of my 27 years, and- knock on wood, cross chest- never fallen ill.
I just ate 5 dozen-plus Saturday. It easily was one of my top 5 happiest days all year.
I know the risks. Now where's my other dozen?
]]>@Jon Parker: Seriously. I'm originally from the gulf coast and I'd be damn surprised if anybody who eats raw oysters is unaware of the fact they can kill you....
]]>Or figure out new ways to produce them without the fear of them having these problems.
]]>Wow. 15 people per year. Maybe the Feds could start by banning lightning, that kills 58 people per year, and then work their way down to less lethal risks.
]]>Actually oysters are largely harvested in the bays, not the Gulf of Mexico. I love our local oysters and have many great memories of my dad shucking them for me as fast as I could eat them. I ate them in my highchair, one in each fist. But I do not eat them anymore, even in cold months. The bays are filthy and heavily polluted in a lot of areas. I just don't feel the taste is worth the risk.
]]>