FDA Issues Alert On All Raw Paciic Northwest Oysters - Oregonian

[hatrack]

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday warned all U.S. residents to avoid eating raw oysters from the Pacific Northwest, the center of a big outbreak of food poisoning.

The federal warning follows a Washington state ban on harvesting oysters in parts of the Hood Canal and Puget Sound, some of the country's richest oyster beds.

Those actions will make it a little harder for consumers to find raw oysters, though many markets and restaurants still offer the delicacies. But they are significantly hurting shellfish harvesters, especially Washington's oyster industry, the biggest in the nation.

The monthlong outbreak has sickened at least 166 people in Oregon, Washington, New York and British Columbia. Victims ate raw oysters contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus, many harvested in Washington from the now-closed beds. This may be the second-biggest U.S. outbreak of these infections, which usually cause several days of serious stomach problems .

EDIT

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1154410254253660.xml&coll=7