FDA Hurricane Katrina Recovery Update
Seafood Availability and Safety

FDA is working with industry to ensure that the seafood that is currently offered for sale in your local market is safe.

With the extensive flooding, power outages, and damage to buildings as a result of Hurricane Katrina, consumers and those in the food industry may have concerns about the safety of food, especially the Gulf Coast's seafood products, exposed to hurricane damage. Although the damage by Hurricane Katrina is extensive, industry, states, and federal food safety officials have well established systems and methods to produce safe food and ensure seafood safety. At this time, FDA offers the following advice:

Seafood Caught Prior to the Hurricane but Affected by Hurricane Damage

All seafood exposed to flood waters or that has spoiled due to lack of refrigeration, is considered unfit for the human food supply and must be destroyed.  FDA is currently working with the states and local officials to visit seafood processors, packagers, and transporters to help them determine if any of their remaining stored product is safe.   Companies can consult A Notice to Growers, Food Manufacturers, Food Warehouse Managers, and Transporters of Food Products About the Safety of Food Affected by Hurricane Katrina for information about the safety of products affected by hurricane-related damage.  FDA is not aware of any seafood from the affected areas that has entered the commercial marketplace since the hurricane.

Seafood Caught and/or Processed After the Hurricane

Steps are underway to ensure that seafood caught and processed in the areas affected by the hurricane is safe for consumption. Currently all commercial fishing waters in Alabama are closed, as are the molluscan shellfish (oysters, clams, and mussels) beds in Louisiana and Mississippi. As the hurricane-damaged regions recover, fishing, shrimping, crabbing, and the harvesting of molluscan shellfish are anticipated to resume in the near future.  Further, for processed seafood FDA requires processors to have controls in place to prevent contamination of their product.  Any food processing facilities or equipment exposed to waste products, petroleum products, chemical, biological or other hazards during the hurricane must be brought back into compliance before processing resumes.

Consumer Advice

Sport fishermen should check local advisories about the safety of fish in local lakes, rivers, and costal areas affected by the hurricane before resuming fishing.