Doubt Cast on Safety of Gulf Seafood

Nov. 4, 2010 /EIN Presswire/ -- Is Gulf of Mexico seafood safe to eat?

Earlier this week two federal agencies, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), gave Gulf seafood products their stamps of approval. Testing the waters and sealife, they said they found no health risks.

But many independent observers are not so sure.

The FDA and NOAA cited tests for a compound in chemicals used to disperse oil from the BP spill. Those who dispute the findings say that the tests ignored other chemicals that are also highly toxic.

Samples taken immediately after the spill showed serious fish kills and toxic pollution deep below sea level and up to eight miles from the spill site. Many believe that the tides and currents have carried the poisonous brew even further.

Other concerns include the potential for dispersants to mutate into new chemical forms and to evaporate and fall back to earth as rain.

Gulf residents exposed to the chemicals used to clean up the oil are still reporting health problems six months after exposure. This is a condition that also affected Alaskans contaminated in the cleanup of oil from Prince William Sound after the Exxon Valdez disaster.

BP is investing tens of millions of dollars in partnership with Gulf states to promote fish and shellfish products as safe. The science of that claim remains an open question, even after the FDA and NOAA seals of approval.

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