‘Top Chef’ Tom Colicchio to CNN’s Campbell Brown: ‘Fish That’s Coming Out of the Gulf Is Safe’

Article by Kari Larson

July 3, 2010 — Last evening, “Top Chef” star/producer and restaurateur Tom Colicchio [pictured] told CNN’s Campbell Brown that, after having spent time in Grand Isle, La., with several other prominent chefs, he thinks seafood from the Gulf Coast is safe to eat.

“We spent a lot of time with fishermen, fishing families, and talking to them — just to try to get a better idea of what was going on there,” the award-winning Colicchio recalled. “And there’s sort of two stories right now that I think you need to tell about the Gulf.

“One is that this is devastating. It’s horrible what’s going on down there. They need to stop this oil somehow, some way. Hopefully, it will happen with this new well that they’re drilling.

“But, on the other hand, there’s a lot of hope. There are fishermen that are still fishing… The fishermen that aren’t cleaning up the oil, they are actually fishing. And the fish that’s coming out of the Gulf is safe.”

Colicchio went on to note that the multi-government agency response to the BP oil-spill disaster is well-coordinated, ambitious and ongoing.

“There’s five different agencies testing the waters,” he noted. “There’s tissue samples being taken every day. I think there were over 300 done so far since May.”

“And just to be clear,” said Brown, “they’re not fishing in the oil spill area.”

“No, no, no, no,” Colicchio replied.

To read the entire transcript of Brown’s interview with Colicchio, go to: http://bit.ly/ColicchioCNN.

For the latest information about food-safety issues related to the Gulf Coast oil spill, please visit: http://bit.ly/OilSpillUpdateFDA.

If you have questions or concerns about seafood, or wish to report any seafood you have purchased that you suspect of being contaminated with oil, call 1-888-INFO-FDA.

SOURCES: CNN, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

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TAGS: BP oil spill, Bravo TV, Campbell Brown, CNN, cooking, culinary, EPA, FDA, fish, fishing industry, food safety, Gulf Coast, NOAA, seafood industry, Think Like a Chef, Tom Colicchio, Top Chef, TV, cable television, cable TV, economic development, economy, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, Environmental Protection Agency, federal agencies, federal government agencies, Gulf of Mexico, James Beard Foundation, Louisiana, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reality television, reality TV, restaurant owner, restaurant owners, seafood safety, small business, small-business owners, small businesses, tourism, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

About the Author

Kari Larson, editor and publisher of GoodBiz113 [http://goodbiz113.blogspot.com], is committed to showcasing socially responsible small-business policies, partnerships and practices that serve the greatest possible win-win-win good.

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