I love oysters, do you? If you do – read on…
Here’s a little joke for you.. Two oysters walk into a bar, the one oyster said to the other.. oy – ster, where’s your oy-ther? Get it? Never mind.
The first time I had raw Gulf oysters was at a Easter brunch in Miami, Florida. A little bit of shrimp cocktail and a splash of lemon – - wow! It was at a hotel made famous by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin. I forget the name of the hotel but it is supposedly world famous. The brunch was fabulous and it’s an all you can eat brunch with la creme de la creme spread of seafood, meat, salads and deserts!! It was great. But, did you know that you can get sick from oysters? As much as I love oysters, I don’t advocate anyone to eating them because sometimes the person falls into the at-risk category such as having a liver disease, diabetes or a weak immune system. Eating raw oysters, although not dangerous to healthy individuals may pose serious illness to those who are at risk.
If you love oysters, you should be aware of the things that could affect you if you suffer from any of these well-known diseases. For healthy individuals, they could even benefit from its vitamins It could even result in death from Vibrio vulnificus bacteria if you’re unaware of it. I will always love oysters and will continue to eat them and if you do, you should be well informed as to what dangers it may cause should you be in the at-risk group of individuals. You should learn about them before consumption.
There is a website called BeOysterAware.com which provides you with facts about the bacteria and also ways you can avoid the effects by eating oysters that have been post-harvest processed. Certain processes has evolved to prevent the at-risk individuals from getting ill. IQF (Individual Quick-Freezing) or HCP (Heat-Cool Pasteurization) are some of the techniques used to prevent at-risk individuals from getting sick from eating oysters.
There are tons of information available on the website so if you are an oyster-loving person – - read-up first.. then enjoy.
