Every day, samples of seafood from near the Gulf oil spill are being tested by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Through today, none of the samples had tested positive in lab tests for harmful hydrocarbons that make up crude oil.
The method by which NOAA conducts its testing consists of two parts: one part on-site sniffing, and one part NOAA Seattle laboratory. NOAA literally employs seven olfactory experts, and each is charged with sniffing up to 36 samples of seafood per day. All seven sniffers must get a whiff of each sample and rate it.
The panel of noses can identify as little as 10 parts per million of contaminants in seafood, and their success rate is typically about 80 percent.
The reason the sniffers are so important is that they can quickly identify contaminated food, whereas it may take three to five days for a Seattle laboratory to confirm contamination in samples that don’t pass the sniff test. Samples that get past the nasal brigade still undergo chemical testing in Seattle.
NOAA has focused its sampling efforts on areas outside of the waters that have been closed by the federal government. One disturbing issue is that there have been nearly 500 criminal citations given for commercial fishing in closed areas. More than 200 warnings have also been issued. This has led fishermen to dump more than 23,000 pounds of fish that may have otherwise made it further into the supply chain.
Many boats patrol the borders of the closed waters, which totals 80,000 square miles or 34 percent of the Gulf. One official from the Louisiana health and hospitals department said inspectors must take fishermen at their word for where they obtain their catch. An FDA official who is leading the seafood safety efforts, said the reason the FDA has confidence in the seafood is not because of any testing, but rather the preventive measures that have been established – namely fishing closures.
If contaminated seafood were to be ingested by humans, it may cause gastrointestinal issues such as discomfort and diarrhea. Only long-term exposure would put a person at risk for more serious outcomes, said an official from the National Center for Food Protection.
Seafood is a $3 billion industry in Louisiana alone, and many companies that are still proud of their company name now realize it may be doing more harm than good. One such company is Louisiana Gulf Seafood.
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