Tests show Mississippi oysters safe to eat

JACKSON, Miss., Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Oysters harvested in Mississippi fishing waters are not contaminated with oil and are safe to eat, officials say.

Testing by several agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, did not find elevated hydrocarbon levels in oyster samples, CNN said Thursday.

Large areas of the Gulf of Mexico were closed to fishing following the April explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which resulted in millions of gallons of oil spilling into the sea. The explosion also killed 11 workers.

"Like all the seafood samples collected and tested from Mississippi territorial waters since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, our Mississippi oyster tissue samples have undergone rigorous testing, and have been proven to be well below levels of concern for hydrocarbons," said Dale Diaz, fisheries director for the state Department of Marine Resources.

The state's oyster season is closed during the summer and reopens within the next few weeks, the report said.

The state's Department of Environmental Quality, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also tested the oysters for oil contamination.