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White House Executive Chef Cristeta Comerford visited New Orleans recently, enjoying a crab boat outing, a tour of a blue crab processing plant, and a shrimp shindig.

Also on hand was FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and a number of chefs from across the U.S. As reported by Eddie Gehman Kohan on Obamafoodarama.com, the trip was designed to encourage America’s chefs to put Gulf seafood back on their menus, and to reassure skeptical diners that the region’s seafood is completely safe.

The trip was organized by the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board with help from the White House.

Consumer concerns over food safety continue to dampen sales of Gulf seafood following the disastrous Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Shrimp prices are at an all-time low.

This is in spite of an ongoing campaign by the White House to allay fears of seafood contamination. Two examples: Gulf shrimp was the sole menu item served at the president’s belated birthday barbecue on the South Lawn—and announced on national TV, and the NFL champion New Orleans Saints cooked Gulf seafood at the White House a few weeks back.

Beyond these ceremonial efforts, the NOAA, FDA and other federal, state and local agencies have all been working together to get the message out that scientific testing has shown that Gulf seafood is indeed safe to eat.

Read the complete original article.

The Food Channel is bringing you recaps of some of the best stories from around the Web that will help us all learn more about the true situation in the Gulf. Stay with us as the story unfolds and let’s see what the future of food may look like in the wake of crisis.