New FDA Seafood Regulations Jeopardizing Fate of New Orleans Oyster Houses?

The New Orleans Times-Picayune brings word that within the next two years the FDA plans to implement new sterilization regulations on domestically harvested oysters from April through October to reduce cases of a rare, but potentially fatal, bacterial illness. While this will completely end the service of raw Gulf oysters for 7 months out of the year, this could also have another huge impact on the local cuisine---the sterilized oysters have a different texture and flavor that may affect century-old recipes for things like oyster po-boys and seafood gumbo, and may lead restauranteurs to remove such items from their menus completely. What's more, Gulf oyster prices are expected to jump to twice or even three times the current market value during that time frame, another vexing proposition for restauranteurs and the mostly independently owned and operated Oyster harvests in the Gulf, which supplies over one third of the country's oysters each year. With the deployment of these restrictions on the horizon, those affected may try to work with the FDA to obtain a postponement, if only to allow the harvesters more time to raise the funds needed to retrofit their operations.