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T u e s d ay, d e c e m b e r 9, 2025
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Evelyn Griffin appointed surgeon general
Member of CDC advisory panel recently backed ending support for infant hepatitis B vaccine BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By LESLIE WESTBROOK
State health officials want to make sure that restaurants and food retailers can’t reuse oyster shells, such as in oysters Rockefeller, to serve meat that comes from a different oyster.
Defining bisque vexes state health officials
Gov. Jeff Landry has appointed Evelyn Griffin, a doctor who has worked on maternal mortality and voiced skepticism about vaccines, to be Louisiana’s next surgeon general. “Her clinical experience, her leadership in advancing maternal health, and her dedicaGriffin tion to strengthening the doctor-patient relationship make her the exact right choice for this role,” Landry said in a release Monday announcing Griffin’s appointment. “With Dr. Griffin stepping in, I’m confident Louisiana is in
ä See GRIFFIN, page 4A
Food safety rules about oysters, crawfish in question
BY ALYSE PFEIL Staff writer
State health officials want to set stricter rules for reusing shells in certain seafood dishes, which they say can risk exposure to a deadly flesh-eating bacteria that’s seen a resurgence this year. But along the way, they have run into a stumbling block and a very Louisiana dilemma: What counts as a bisque? The state’s restaurant safety code for decades has said that “Mollusk and crustacean shells may not be used more than once as serving containers.” Oysters are mollusks, and crawfish are crustaceans. Now, the Louisiana Department of Health wants to make clear that restaurants and food retailers can’t ever reuse oyster shells to serve meat that comes from a different oyster. “We had reports of folks taking shucked shells and using those as serving containers,” said Dr. Pete Croughan, deputy secretary at the Health Department, speaking recently to members of the Senate
The stricter rule raised a conundrum for regulators, however: What about soups that call for stuffed seafood shells, like crawfish bisque? Health officials said they wanted to ensure stuffed crawfish heads sometimes used in bisque recipes aren’t implicated by the shell-reuse prohibition, and they carved out an exemption specifically for crawfish bisque. Crawfish bisque doesn’t present a food safety risk, because the cooking heat will kill any bacteria, health officials said. But some lawmakers raised concerns that the exemption wasn’t STAFF PHOTO By BILL FEIG broad enough. State health officials said they “What if I put crawfish heads in my wanted to ensure stuffed crawfish gumbo, which isn’t a bisque, but it’s heads sometimes used in bisque hot enough to kill the pathogens?” asked health committee chair Sen. recipes aren’t implicated by Patrick McMath, R-Covington. the shell-reuse prohibition, and Others worried the exemption was they carved out an exemption too vague. specifically for crawfish bisque. “A bisque in Alexandria and a bisque in Gueydan, La., is probably two different things. You can health committee. “You can still eat raw oysters be a lot more specific than saying ‘a and chargrilled oysters, as long as bisque,’ ” said Republican state Sen. they’re used on the same shell that ä See BISQUE, page 4A they came from,” he said.
Advocates raise alarm over new HUD policies Funding shifts could disrupt housing support BY STEPHEN MARCANTEL Staff writer
The Trump administration has proposed new policies for the Department of Housing and Urban Development that could result in deep cuts to funding for long-term housing and shift money toward transitional housing that requires work and addiction treatment. Acadiana advocates say the changes have created chaos and will exacerbate visible homelessness in the region.
ä See HUD, page 4A
Trump promises $12B in aid for farmers hit hard in trade war BY SEUNG MIN KIM, JOSH FUNK and DIDI TANG Associated Press
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By ALEX BRANDON
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, right, sits next to President Donald Trump during a roundtable on farm subsidies Monday in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced a $12 billion farm aid package on Monday — a boost to farmers who have struggled to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war. He unveiled the plan Monday afternoon at a White House roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, law-
makers from farm states, and farmers who thanked him for the help. “With this bridge payment, we’ll be able to farm another year,” Iowa farmer Cordt Holub told Trump during the event. Rollins put the immediate value of the program at $11 billion — money that the White House said will offer one-time payments to row-crop farmers. Another $1 billion will be put aside for specialty crops as the administration works to better understand the circum-
stances for those farmers, Rollins said. The aid will move by the end of February, she said. “We looked at how they were hurt, to what extent they were hurt,” Trump said, explaining how the administration came up with the size of the package. Trump said the money for the program will come from tariff revenue. Farmers have backed Trump politically, but his aggressive trade policies and frequently changing tariff rates have come under increasing scrutiny because of the impact on
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the agricultural sector and because of broader consumer worries. The aid is the administration’s latest effort to defend Trump’s economic stewardship and answer voter angst about rising costs. Trump has been dismissive of the affordability issue at times, but on Tuesday, he is set to travel to Pennsylvania to talk about how his administration is trying to address a concern that is important for voters.
ä See FARMERS, page 6A
101ST yEAR, NO. 162