Law Articles - The FDA's New Regulations for Oysters and Its Legal Impact


by JONATHAN BLOCKER - Date: 2010-01-15 - Word Count: 427 Share This!

It most instances, it is pretty easy to spot a bad oyster. Bad oysters not only do look dry and shriveled but they usually smell terrible, almost like rotten eggs. We all know what happens too when you have the unfortunate displeasure of eating a bad oyster. It isn't pretty. What happens though when the warning signs of a bad oyster are not so obvious? That seemingly harmless oyster can potentially be fatal.

The Food and Drug Administration has put together a new plan to cut down on the number of oyster-related deaths. While this may be good news for those not wishing to get sick, it does make it a little more difficult to find raw oysters. The FDA's goal is to cut down on the number of food poisoning cases resulting from the consumption of raw oysters.

These new regulations put in place require all oysters caught in the Gulf Coast to undergo treatment to kill potential bacteria during the warmer months of May to October. In an effort to reduce cases of a rare, but potentially fatal illness caused by the Vibrio Vulnificus bacterium contracted from raw oysters. The FDA announced new rules this month that will require any oyster served to undergo a sterilization process before it can be sold in restaurants or on the market.

The Vibrio Vulnificus bacterium affects about 30 individuals per year nationwide who eat raw oysters from Gulf Coast. The disease invades the bloodstream and can cause a severe fever and skin lesions, and in many instances, the patient can eventually die. Most deaths occur in people with weak immune systems because of health problems such as liver or kidney disease, cancer, diabetes, or AIDS. If someone you love has passed away from eating raw oysters, it would be beneficial to contact a Colorado wrongful death attorney just in case.

The new rule essentially eliminates raw oysters from all restaurant menus for seven months of the year. Even those oysters, which will eventually be cooked during this time span, are required to go through the same cleansing process before being added to any dish for consumption.

If you believe you or someone close to you got sick or died from bad oysters, it is important you contact either a Colorado personal injury lawyer or a Colorado wrongful death attorney to receive the fair compensation you deserve. Why should you suffer from the negligence of an improperly prepared oyster? A Colorado personal injury lawyer can bring forth a lawsuit claim against the restaurant and the oyster processing facility.


Related Tags: colorado personal injury lawyer, colorado wrongful death attorney, vibrio vulnificus

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: