Radar Range: Gulf Oyster Ban on Hold

The Obama administration is putting in hold their planned 2011 ban on raw oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico during warm weather months.

Strong resistence from Gulf Coast lawmakers and the oyster industry pressured the FDA to announce Friday that it will instead study ways to make raw oyster consumption safer. The proposed ban would have prohibited sales of Gulf oysters for much of the year unless they were treated to destroy Vibrio vulnificus, a bacterium that kills about 15 people a year.

If you haven’t already read the risks of eating untreated Gulf oysters, you should check out Nancy Nichols’ terrific 2003 story.