Home

EMF 2010: Food Safety in New Orleans

As the ESSENCE Music Festival rolls around, you're probably wondering what you can eat as the oil spill is now at day 70. The oil spill has greatly affected the Gulf region's seafood supplies, but several restaurants report still getting fresh, healthy seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and nearby Lake Pontchartrain. Here's what you should know...
EMF 2010: Food Safety in New Orleans
Oysters New Orleans 260 Jpg
oysters-new-orleans.jpg
As the ESSENCE Music Festival rolls around, you’re probably wondering what you can eat as the oil spill is now at day 70. The oil spill has greatly affected the Gulf region’s seafood supplies, but several restaurants report still getting fresh, healthy seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and nearby Lake Pontchartrain. Here’s what you should know: The New York Times reports that “stringent safety measures” are “being taken to ensure that no tainted seafood is sold.” Fish and shrimp are still available, though restaurants report lower supplies, so expect to pay a few dollars more. Oysters are limited and when available, prices have doubled. Luckily, restaurants specializing in oyster Po’Boys offer equally delicious alternatives like the muffuletta, with salami (cotto and Genoa), smoked ham, mozzarella and an oily olive salad stuffed into a thick round of bread, reports TIME magazine. Restaurants also assure customers that the Gulf is so extensive that they’re now getting fish from the deep waters, past the oil spill. Vice-President Joe Biden visited the Gulf region today and announced new federal safety measures to ensure seafood safety. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Food and Drug Administration will partner up for the new initiative. For now, both federal administrators and restaurant owners ensure customers that there’s plenty of safe seafood in the region.