12/19/22: Raw Oyster Food Poisoning Alert In 8 States - Harvested In Galveston Bay, Texas

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning Dec. 15 about eating raw oysters that were harvested from Galveston Bay, Texas between 11/17/2022 and 12/7/2022. Approximately 211 people from Alabama, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee became sick with the norovirus after eating the Lone Star mollusks.

I love oysters--raw, fried, smoked, whatever--even if they are expensive, and this is the time of year people splurge on them. So be careful out there folks.

In this specific case, the CDC recommends that you throw out any such product you may be in possession of, since there is a degree of likelihood it is contaminated.

The CDC makes these following general recommendations to protect yourself against the norovirus:

• Cook oysters and other shellfish thoroughly before eating them (at least 145 degrees); quick steaming is not enough.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water often.
• Carefully wash fruits and vegetables before preparing and eating them.
• Do not prepare food or care for others when you are sick, and for at least two days after symptoms stop.
• Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces. Wash contaminated laundry thoroughly.

 

People eat raw oysters?

 

Raw is the only way to eat them.
Fried comes in second.

It's like eating turtle, except oysters are even slower (and easier to catch.)

 

I've never considered eating an oyster in any condition, but I certainly wouldn't eat a raw one. I once considered trying turtle soup because my uncle made it from snapping turtles he bought from us but my cousin (his son) said it was gross and that seemed reasonable to me, so I didn't.

 

I'm the same way with clams & mussels (except in New England clam chowder). They're too strong for my tastes. We used to go clamming when we vacationed outside of Ocean City MD. Nothing could be easier. You wade through shin-deep water around the small islands or sandbars and drag a garden rake through the sand. You'll know it when you scrape on their shells. I'd help get them but I'd never eat one.

I cannot recall when I had my first oyster, much less my first raw one. We never had oysters when I was a kid, so it was sometime in my adult years. I do recall my first (and only) episode with snails. Not an elusive quarry, but hardly worth the meager hunt.

 

Yeah, I don't know why I like clam chowder. It should disgust me.

 

Because it's the only soup where it's legal to use those little round crackers that fit on your spoon right out of the bag. I wish they'd make Tomato Soup Crackers.

 

I wish I could remember the first time I tried one, not because I'm not "food adventurous," but because I'm highly "food safety" and "Emergency Room advoidant," so am the last person to take the risk of eating uncooked seafood.

My younger brother would buy high-quality beef from his local butcher in the country, and he's slice off a bite [raw] and pop it in his mouth. He'd would give me the look, and I'd pass. Sorry, bro.

 

My recent gut issues have caused me to pause in gratitude for all those years of unbridled mindless gluttony I was so fortunate to enjoy. We ate like kings (and queens.)