Visitor’s to the 41st Annual Jazz Festival in New Orleans in a few weeks may have a harder time than usual getting raw oysters if officials continue to block harvesting in a number of  Gulf Coast areas. State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry ordered three harvest zones closed down following outbreaks of Norovirus that sickened more than 50 in New Orleans and Pascagoula, LA.

Norovirus contamination of oysters is usually the result of water pollution, particularly sewage runoff. Gulf waters have dealt with high levels of water pollution for years, a problem that is only made worse by the area’s relatively high water temperatures, which allow certain pathogens to thrive.

Raw oysters are delicious, but remember that they should not be consumed by the very old, very young, pregnant women, or anyone with a compromised immune system. As a matter of personal choice, and out of an abundance of caution, I try not to eat raw oysters harvested from warm or polluted waters – in other words, I don’t eat a whole lot of raw Gulf Coast oysters. Smoked? Yup. Baked or broiled? Sure. But not raw. To me, it just ain’t worth the risk.

News on the harvest-zone closures from Food Safety News.