Scientists Sniff-Test Gulf Seafood
In the wake of the BP oil spill, scientists are literally following their noses to determine whether Gulf of Mexico seafood is dangerous. Video.
In the wake of the BP oil spill, scientists from a U.S. government lab in Pascagoula, Mississippi, are using a low-tech tool to analyze seafood from the Gulf of Mexico—the human sense of smell. Likening the sniff-testers to wine tasters, researchers say the nose can catch warning signs that chemical tests may miss.
Along the Gulf Coast of the United States, federal and state authorities are helping the region recover from one of the largest oil spills in the planet's history.
And an important part of that effort, both environmentally and economically, is ensuring that the seafood harvested from the Gulf of Mexico is safe to eat.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, along with the FDA and EPA, is overseeing
