Originally published at: Two dead after eating raw oysters from Louisiana | Boing Boing
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extra info from the CDC
Vibrio bacteria can also cause a skin infection when an open wound is exposed to salt water or brackish water. Brackish water is a mixture of fresh and salt water. It is often found where rivers meet the sea.
Very explained, and almost… poetic
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I thought it was “eat them only in months containing an R.” No?
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/oysters-in-r-months-rule-4000-years-old/
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Oysters are filter feeders. Lots of crap (literally and figuratively) ends up inside them. Hepatitis A, vibrio and norovirus among them. Your doctor says “no.” They are delicious, i love them. Cooked. I love them cooked. Just say no to snot on a rock.
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This is one food I love but don’t mind it being imitation meat from tofu given the risk. Anyone know a good recipe?
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Perfectly sound and sensible advice.
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Partially, yes. R-months see cooler water temperature but this is location-dependent. Hood Canal, WA right now is 52°F. Apalachicola, FL water temp is 85°F. Apalachicola water temp in January is in the mid 60s, so still warmer than Washington waters in the height of summer. PNW heat waves notwithstanding I’m less worried about vibrio in my local oysters.
But oysters also breed in the summer and this negatively affects their texture. They’re softer, less crisp. So if you’re going to eat summer oysters, there’s no better time to eat them fried or roasted, where the mushier texture isn’t really a drawback.
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This. Willapa Bay is so cold you can chill your Chardonnay or Pinot Gris in it while you shuck your fresh oysters.
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With Louisiana’s history of water pollution, not sure I want to eat anything from there.
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Eating a raw filter feeder during the summer… what could possibly go wrong
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Rolled in corn meal, pan fried, and served with a bit of pickled chili.
Now I’m hungry. Excuse me.
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Does this also apply to clams in New Jersey in July? A friend of mine may have eaten some raw clams a few weeks ago. And by friend, I mean me. And by some, I mean a lot. They were good, though.
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Growing up in Florida we always followed the R-rule for gulf oysters. No brainer. IN fact, I’m surprised when I see them for sale at local FL restaurants in the middle of summer, I wouldn’t touch them raw down here.
Worst oyster food poisoning I got was at a nice steak house in Colorado. I don’t remember if they were gulfs or PNWs but the lesson is “don’t order oysters in a state 1000+ miles from the ocean, especially when they’re on sale…”
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How about slag in a shell?
Sometimes they like to eat us too:
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I just finished reading Arlie Russell Hochschild’s “Strangers in Their Own Land,” a sociological study of right wing voters in Louisiana. Reading about the illegal dumping, leakage from salt domes of “stored” toxic petrochemicals, and horrible rates of exotic cancers convinced me never to eat anything ever from Louisiana or the Gulf if I can avoid it.
As for raw oysters … in the 1980s, a coworker of mine from Melbourne, Florida told of working in a raw bar there, and how they would open cans of oysters and place them on oyster shells and call them raw oysters. I’m sure no one does that today though.
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Keep in mind that just because you’re near the water does not mean that the seafood is local. Indeed the story is about Florida locals eating Louisiana oysters and we’ve managed to kill off most of the aquatic life in the Chesapeake Bay.
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As a vegetarian I laughed and laughed and laughed. JK. I did not, but there does seem to be a swelling up of meat fighting back: Alpha Gal anyone?
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