Posted on 10/30/2003 9:51:07 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gulf of Mexico oystermen hope that California Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger will repeal his state's ban on raw Gulf oysters that have not been treated for bacterial contamination. Gulf oystermen have threatened to sue California over the ban that was imposed on an emergency basis in April and made permanent in September to prevent deaths from an oyster-borne microbe. "We're going to see if we can get the new governor's administration to concern itself with the issue," said Mike Voisin, chairman of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force. "What I've heard from the Schwarzenegger crew is that they will review anything done in the last 90 days in the (Gray) Davis administration." Officials with Schwarzenegger's transition team did not immediately return a telephone call Thursday. Schwarzenegger won an Oct. 7 recall election to replace Davis. California officials said the ban was necessary because of Vibrio vulnificus contamination. Since 1983, 75 illnesses in California have been blamed on the microbe, resulting in 48 deaths. People who have weakened immune systems, including those with cirrhosis or hepatitis, are most vulnerable to the bacterium's effects. Oysters harvested from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas during warm months may be contaminated. Those states account for about half the nation's oyster production. The ban does not apply to harvested oysters that have been treated, typically through pasteurization or freezing, to kill bacteria. Those methods also kill the oyster and are costly. In August, the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference, a national industry group, censured California for the ban and accused the state of breaking the group's unity. The group said the ban also could erode efforts to reduce the levels of the bacterium under a national plan to fight Vibrio vulnificus contamination. Voisin said the ban costs the industry between $20 million and $40 million and takes away money processors could use to treat oysters. "What California has done will hurt the industry," Voisin said. This summer, Voisin said, about 100,000 pounds of raw Gulf oysters were treated and shipped to California, down from 500,000 pounds before the ban. He said the ban drove up the price of oysters by as much as three times for California consumers. If Schwarzenegger does not lift the ban, a lawsuit could be filed in federal court, most likely on the grounds that the ban violates federal commerce laws, Voisin said. "I believe California has done what no other state has done - it has banned a food product that is approved by the FDA," Voisin said.
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