For many years, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been urging the Food and Drug Administration to require that oysters harvested from the Gulf of Mexico during warm-water months be treated to eliminate the dangerous bacteria Vibrio vulnificus.

So, first, we have some good news. On October 18, the FDA announced that it will, in fact, require contaminated oysters to undergo post-harvest processing to kill Vibrio. That’s great news for anyone who wants to enjoy oysters without getting sick—and it’s especially good news for those Americans with compromised immune systems, for whom Vibrio is deadly in half of all cases of infection.

But alas, this is Washington. And before you could say "Oysters Rockefeller", the shellfish industry and their lobbyists went to work. And several Gulf Coast politicians have introduced special-interest legislation that would actually prohibit the FDA from moving forward on its oyster safety plan.

Lets be clear about what this means. Every summer, like clockwork 15 or 20 Americans will die from oysters contaminated with Vibrio. Those who survive will have suffered from septicemia—blood poisoning that causes painful lesions and fluid-filled blisters so severe that sometimes victims' limbs must be amputated to save their lives.

And all of these deaths and illnesses are preventable by using readily available technology that kills the germ.

Lets not let special-interest politics stop the FDA from doing its important job. Contact your United States Senators and Representative and urge them to oppose any effort to weaken the FDA's proposed oyster safety plan.