Consumers and Gulf Shrimp: Watch What We Do, Not What We Say
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The quote, "Watch what we do, not what we say," is attributed to John Mitchell, Nixon's first attorney general. It can apply, however, to the behavior of consumers with respect to shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico, and that will be watched carefully everyone from shrimp fishers to the owners of your local fish market. The FDA says flatly, about Gulf shrimp, "the public should not be concerned about the safety of seafood in stores at this time." Not surprisingly, a coalition led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, while not going so far as to advise anyone not to eat Gulf shrimp, thinks higher standards and more testing is appropriate, and has so advised both the FDA and NOAA.
Shrimpers themselves are of course worried about the backlash if any tainted shrimp are consumed. Similar to the dialogue I had with Jim Prevor a few months ago, there is often a difference between what we might think of as rational behavior and how consumers in fact react. Every year, a certain percentage of shrimp turn bad for reasons unrelated to oil spills; in 2010, it's likely a consumer who gets a bad shrimp will first blame it on the oil spill.
According to an AP article reprinted in today's Wall Street Journal, however, the reality on the ground in fish stores is less grim. It quotes the supplier to Hapuku Fish Shop, an upscale store in the Rockridge District of Oakland, as saying, "the shrimp has been nothing less than spectacular lately." The shop itself is selling about as much of the shrimp as it did before the spill.
President Obama also has put his stomach where his mouth is, serving Gulf shrimp at his birthday party.
As with any seafood, consumers of Gulf shrimp should handle it properly and apply their own smell test before cooking and before eating.
Food Safety Legislative Update
We wrote recently about the food safety legislation coming out of Henry Waxman’s House Committee on Energy and Commerce. That legislation, H.R. 2749, has passed out of committee and been reported to the full House for a vote. When the vote will occur is anybody’s guess. Reuters quotes Chairman Waxman as saying, “I am hopeful that before too long, we can have a comprehensive food safety bill on President Obama’s desk.”
Obama Administration Focuses on Food Safety
The Obama administration placed food safety front and center over the weekend. In his weekly radio address, President Obama on Saturday announced new leadership at the Food and Drug Administration and the creation of a panel to toughen food safety laws.
Characterizing outdated food safety laws and the lack of resources at the FDA as “a hazard to public health,” Mr. Obama announced the appointment of Dr. Margaret Hamburg, a former New York City health commissioner, as FDA commissioner, and Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein as the FDA principal deputy commissioner. The president also unveiled the Food Safety Working Group – a group that will consist of cabinet secretaries and senior officials to advise the president on how to update and enforce food safety laws.
President Obama also announced two additional food-safety steps on Saturday: closing a loophole in federal regulation that allows some diseased cows to be slaughtered for food, and a billion-dollar investment to modernize labs and increase the number of food inspectors.
Read a transcript of the president’s weekly radio address, download the .mp3 audio, or view the video below.
