Americans Still Unsure about Eating Gulf Seafood

A recent AP poll showed that Americans are still uncertain about the safety of eating Gulf seafood. Even though it has been four months since the largest man-made environmental disaster in the nation’s history rocked an entire industry and wreaked havoc on aquatic wildlife for years to come, the country remains hesitant about purchasing seafood like shrimp, oysters, crab and scallops, retrieved from the Gulf waters.

“Normally, I would go to the casinos and eat seafood, but now I’m going to be kind of skeptical of eating,” said Samuel Washington, 44, who lives in Norfolk, Va. told the Associate Press. Washington also owns a home in Ocean Springs, Miss. “My biggest concern is whether or not they are really testing all the affected areas.”

The poll went on to show that more than half, 54 percent, said they weren’t confident that it is safe yet to eat seafood from the oil wrecked areas, and 55 percent said they weren’t confident that the beaches in the affected areas were safe for swimming.

In June 87 percent of respondents said that the spill was an important issue affecting the country, but the recent poll showed that number dropped to 60 percent. In addition, the AP poll suggested that only 21 percent said it would affect them and their families a great deal or a lot in the next year, down from 40 percent in June.

Tags: food safety, oil spill, safety, seafood