Agencies Give Gulf Seafood Green Light

Nov. 1, 2010 /EIN Presswire/---The FDA and NOAA have developed a new chemical test to check for potentially harmful dispersant residue in fish, oysters, crab and shrimp caught in the Gulf of Mexico.

Dispersants were widely used to attack oil spilled by the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform. Seafood industry workers have been concerned that the chemicals could affect the quality and safety of Gulf seafood.

In a statement, the two federal agencies said that they have tested for dispersants for many years, since trace amounts of the chemicals have been common, even before the spill. They have augmented these tests with "rigorous sensory analysis" from recently reopened fishing waters, the agencies said.

Gulf scientists have tested 1,735 tissue samples, with only a few showing trace amounts well below safety thresholds. he agencies said the residue doesn't post a threat to human health.

The new test detects dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate, known as DOSS, a major component of the dispersants used in the Gulf. DOSS is also approved by FDA for use in various household products and over-the-counter medication at very low levels. The best scientific data to date indicates that DOSS does not build up in fish tissues.

"The rigorous testing we have done from the very beginning gives us confidence in the safety of seafood being brought to market from the Gulf," said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Under Secretary for Commerce and NOAA Administrator. "This test adds another layer of information, reinforcing our findings to date that seafood from the Gulf remains safe."

Samples tested including grouper, tuna, wahoo, swordfish, gray snapper, butterfish, red drum, croaker, and shrimp, crabs and oysters collected from June to September.

About 4 percent of the federal waters in the Gulf are still closed to commercial and recreational fishing.

For more seafood news, visit Seafood Industry Today (http://seafood.einnews.com), a seafood news monitoring service from EIN News.