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The fight is on to block an FDA ban on the sale of raw oysters during the warm months of the year. The Food and Drug Administration approved a ban, scheduled to go into effect in the spring of 2011 because of a bacteria found more commonly in oysters harvested in the summer. The bacteria can kill people with immune deficiency disorders. Congressional legislation aimed at blocking the FDA’s ban was introduced in Washington this week. Southeastern Fisheries Association Spokesman Bob Jones says the economic impact of the ban would be felt across the state.

“The impact of that would be felt all the away up the chain to people that depend on harvesting, depend on processing, depend on selling, and depend on serving them in their restaurants. It’s not just a small group of harvesters who would be hurt. It would hurt the whole economy,” Jones said.

Ten percent of the country’s oysters are harvested in Florida, from the state’s Apalachicola Bay.