1623 Whitesville Rd.
Toms River, NJ 08755
April 19, 2005
Friends
On Friday the CDC came out with a report which described decreases in
food-borne illness but also highlighted that Vibrio -related
food-borne illness associated with shellfish increased 47% in the past
five years
see:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5414a2.htm
The mainstream press has not really picked this up yet, and most of the
articles that have are leading with the positive news that illnesses are
declining, (see today's USA Today)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2005-04-17-food-illness_x.htm
We do not want to be complacent. We fully expect the Center of Science
and the Public Interest to launch a press campaign attacking oysters and
calling for mandatory post harvest treatment as they have every other
year just in advance of the ISSC meetings (in August).
Just so you are armed with the facts in case the press or customers come
calling the ECSGA with our friends in the PCSGA and GOIC with help from
the NFI has developed a fact sheet on Vibrio
bacteria. We are following this very carefully.
I encourage you to make copies and send them to all of your customers so
that everyone will be prepared. Please also encourage recipients to
visit our website and support the ECSGA.
Bob Rheault
President ECSGA