UF professor Anita Wright and graduate student Mark Campbell have developed a new test that detects oysters that will make people sick.
The polymerase chain reaction test was approved at the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference in Manchester, N.H., which took place the week of Oct. 17.
The test will allow the shellfish industry to comply with FDA's newest safety regulations, announced earlier this month, that stress that oysters harvested in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer should receive treatment to reduce harmful oysters. The regulations will make it more difficult for oyster-lovers to find oysters in the U.S.
The test detects Vibrio vulnificus, a species that causes the most seafood-related fatalities in the U.S.
The test amplifies the DNA of pathogens so that researchers can keep track of them in oyster samples.
It can be done in less than 24 hours and is more effective and precise than the current protocol, which can take days to complete.
Although the new discovery can increase public safety, the shellfish industry must cope with new problems, Wright said.
"The idea is to improve safety, but the problem is that it will make oysters less available," she said. "Not all companies can afford to do all of these treatments."
Florida Sea Grant is funding the UF researchers to further refine the test and to provide training and education for the new method.
