Risk Of Illness From Raw Oysters
Gulf oysters are yummy and the first time I tried a raw oyster was 20 years ago at an oyster feed. The only reason I went was to gamble and drink beer, of course back then you didn’t want to give me a dare because I would have to do it just to prove something to myself.
The first time I saw an oyster I thought, Oh Yuck, how in the world can someone swallow that slimy thing. When I tended bar they would do oyster shots and I would gag so you know I didn’t care much for raw oysters, however my boyfriend knew about my aversion and dared me, so I put some Tobasco on it, loosened it from the shell, picked it up, threw it in my mouth, swallowed and drank lots of beer.
After a bit and I’m still not sure if it was all the beer or I simply liked the combination I sat down and ate 2 dozen and I’ve liked them ever since. Today when I decided to type this up I visited the Be Oyster Aware website and was surprised at the information that I found there. According to their site you could be at risk for a serious illness from a bacteria called “Vibrio vulnificus” this occurs more often in summer months than winter and you can get it 2 ways. First by eating raw or undercooked seafood that is contaminated or by an open wound in contaminated seawater.
A healthy person can tolerate this and will not have any diverse effects, but according to their site if you have any of the following health problems which I do you should only eat fully cooked seafood. “Liver Disease (from hepatitis, cirrhosis, alcoholism, or cancer), Iron overload disease (hemochromatosis), Diabetes, Cancer (including lymphoma, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease), Stomach Disorders, Or any illness or medical condition that weakens the body’s immune system.”
Since I have the taste for raw oysters I didn’t like reading that, but then I read about the 3 post-harvest processes that the Gulf Coast oyster processors have developed so I can still eat my oysters raw I was very excited and found that to be interesting reading because I had never been aware of any of this before. It’s an interesting site that I recommend and they even have a recipe book that you can download. If your an oyster lover then you might want to check them out.
