Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Be oyster aware!

"I heard oysters are an aphrodisiac - so I bought two dozen but three of them didn't work!" Okay, so that oyster joke might not appear all that funny to most of you, but neither is getting sick from eating raw oysters.
Personally, I’m a fan of fried oysters. Not being a raw seafood eater, the texture of raw oysters sliding down my throat just isn’t for me, but it sure is for millions of others around the world who find raw oysters to be a delicacy. There are definitely some great health benefits to eating these pearls of the sea, but like most foods, oysters have risks and you should be aware of you are an at-risk consumer. While not widely known, people with diabetes, weak immune systems, or liver disease, should avoid eating raw oysters due to the risk of vibrio vulnificus bacteria, which in some individuals with the aforementioned conditions can cause serious illness or even death. Like anything, be informed about what you are eating and know the facts about Gulf oysters.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This past valentines I took my girlfriend to dinner. We went to a nice restaurant on the beach. I thought I would be romantic and order a sea food platter for two. I thought we could feed each other some delicious fried oysters and such.

When the order came, there was about 8lbs of raw sea food various kinds oozing down a giant mound of ice in a tub. When they placed it on the table we couldn't even see each other.

We peeked over the mound of ice, looked at each other and started laughing.It wasn't very romantic, but will be a great story for years to come.

I think your blog is great.

Stefan

Anonymous said...

I think oysters are great...but the best raw ones come from Nothern cold water climates. The kind you get from gulf states should be cooked...b e especially aware of hepatitis in the warm water oysters!