Florida amps efforts to boost consumer confidence in Gulf seafood


Friday, March 04, 2011, 15:40 (GMT + 9)

Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plans to use USD 20 million obtained from BP over the next three years to improve its laboratories’ ability to inspect and boost public confidence in seafood harvested in the Gulf of Mexico since last year’s oil spill.

The department said its laboratory testing shows Florida seafood is “safe and plentiful and have not been affected by the oil spill.”

Some local business owners think greater efforts to raise awareness about the safety of Gulf-caught seafood caught will profit the state’s industry.

Florida’s Division of Food Safety inspected more than 200 seafood samples such as finfish, shrimp, crab, lobster and oysters. It determined that less than 11 per cent of the samples contained traces of possible oil contaminants, and those that tested positive had traces of “less than 1/1,000th of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) levels of concern.”

“We (will be able to) say with confidence because of the additional testing that gulf seafood is safe and restaurants need to put it back on their menus, and people need to put it back on their plates and add it back to their purchasing habits and combat the perception, which has just been the killer,” said representative Adam Putnam, reports Northwest Florida Daily News. “The perception has been far more harmful than reality.”

The state will invest half of the USD 20 million to augment marketing efforts and combat the public’s opinion across the country that Florida’s seafood has been harmed by the oil spill, reports The News Herald.

“Consumer confidence is just really low (because) the fear the oil had an impact on Gulf seafood, but it’s just not true,” assured Amanda Bevis, communications director of the department.

Representative Steve Southerland believes the time has arrived for the federal government to zero in on spreading the word that seafood from the Gulf of Mexico is indeed safe for consumption.

“Several of us agreed that it was time to weigh in and urge the White House to make a public statement and go on the offensive,” he stated.

Last year, many tourists stayed away from Florida beaches in the spring and summer because of the perception of oil contamination.

“We don’t want the same thing that occurred last year to occur regarding our seafood,” he added.

Yet some people doubt the safety of Gulf seafood, saying they remain worried and do not trust the government’s assurances that their concerns are unwarranted.





By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com