The USDA has given more than $450,000 for a research project designed to increase the safety of certain commercially farmed oysters from the Gulf Coast that are “bound for the premium half-shell market.”
A marine scientist at Auburn University, Bill Walton, is known as one of the driving forces behind the Gulf Coast’s up-and-coming, off-bottom…
It’s time to grab a sun hat and shovel, or rake, and head to the beach to dig for clams or gather oysters. What could be a better summer outing? But time is of the essence. This season’s last chance for minus low tides, which are the best times to dig for shellfish or gather…
Having found a marine biotoxin in two producers’ farm-raised Pacific oysters, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency posted a recall today, but distribution details were incomplete.
The biotoxin found by the CFIA causes Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), which can cause respiratory paralysis and requires immediate medical attention.
“Consumers should not consume, and retailers, hotels, restaurants and…
Oysters and champagne. Love is in the air. It must be Valentine’s Day.
Yes, indeed, oysters have long been associated with romance — the perfect aphrodisiac.
There’s actually some science to back that up, although it’s about the way rats, not humans, responded to oysters in a 2005 study done by a team of Italian…
After receiving reports last week of about 75 norovirus cases, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries closed down shellfish beds in the Town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod.
State food protection officials also notified businesses to recall any affected shellfish harvested in the area on or after Sept.…
Atlantic Shellfish Products Inc. is recalling oysters sent to retailers after Salmonella was detected during testing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 
As of the Monday posting of the recall notice, no illnesses had been reported in connection with the Atlantic Shellfish branded oysters. Officials were not sure if the implicated oysters had been…
Five Star Shellfish Inc. is recalling oysters from Canadian retailers because of possible Salmonella contamination. The Prince Edward Island company distributed the Five Star branded oysters to retailers in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario, according to the recall notice posted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. There is a possibility the oysters were distributed to other…
The FDA’s failure to act to protect the public from deadly bacteria in shellfish not only means the agency is in violation of the Food Safety Modernization Act, but it means at least 15 people will likely die unnecessarily every year, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration…
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska has set up an environmental research and testing lab in Sitka and plans to begin testing local shellfish for biotoxins this spring. There has reportedly been some concern about the distance and turnaround time to have locally harvested shellfish tested in Anchorage by the state, which currently operates the only…
Microbes battling microbes. This type of warfare is happening all around us — and even inside of us — every day. And as in every battle, there are good microbes and bad microbes, depending on what you want the outcome to be. 
Tiny bacteriophages attack larger microscopic organisms such as viruses…
