Why wait for people to get sick from a foodborne illness when you can prevent it from happening in the first place?

Sounds logical enough. At least that’s the thinking behind a plan focusing on the pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which can infect oysters in some growing areas during the summer.

If adopted, the proposal will govern when oysters intended to be eaten raw can, and cannot, be harvested in Washington state. Or, to put it more bluntly, when certain oyster growing areas in the state will be closed  — and when they can be reopened.

Under the plan, closures would primarily be based on air and water temperatures in an oyster-growing area instead of on illness outbreaks caused by eating raw oysters from the growing area.

This is in contrast to current policy in which the state waits until a certain number of people get sick from the pathogen before shutting down the growing area where the oysters came from.

Read the full story at Food Safety News>>

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