Oyster lovers, if you’ve ever wondered whether eating this delectable mollusk – cooked or raw – was a threat to your health, you can now breathe a sigh of relief. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
by Gordon Curry/Louisiana Seafood News
Oyster lovers, if you’ve ever wondered whether eating this delectable mollusk – cooked or raw – was a threat to your health, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.
A new study – plus some already-established facts – help set the record straight.
- Fact: Wild, raw oysters definitely contain a certain amount of bacteria.
- Myth: Anyone who eats raw oysters risks serious health problems from bacterial infection, including death.
“People getting sick from eating raw oysters is a very rare event,” said Dr. Steve Otwell, professor and seafood specialist at the University of Florida. “But like any muscle protein, if you eat it raw, your chances of getting ill are higher because raw products can have certain types of bacteria.”
Who’s Really at Risk?
“People getting sick from eating raw oysters is a very rare event,” said Dr. Steve Otwell, professor and seafood specialist at the University of Florida. Photo: Ed Lallo/Louisiana Seafood News
On its website, the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) states: “Oysters harvested from approved waters, packed under sanitary conditions, and properly refrigerated are usually safe for raw consumption by healthy individuals.”
And as Otwell pointed out: “The real key isn’t the bacteria in the seafood, it’s the consumer. Certain people are more vulnerable than others. Your average consumer is not vulnerable to contracting illnesses from eating raw oysters.”
The key here is “healthy individuals.” Those with compromised immune systems – including individuals with cancer, AIDS, liver disease or diabetes – are generally advised to be cautious.
Options for Consumption
It’s well-established in the oyster industry that bacteria in oysters can be reduced to non-detectable levels through pasteurization, freezing or high-pressure techniques. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
Those who still want to eat one of their favorite oyster dishes, with a greater degree of confidence they won’t get sick, have two options. One, only eat raw oysters that have been processed to eliminate bacteria. Or, two, eat oysters that have been properly cooked.
It’s well-established in the oyster industry that bacteria in oysters can be reduced to non-detectable levels through pasteurization, freezing or high-pressure techniques.
But, up to now, there has never been a definition of “properly cooked.”
“Here we were in 2012 and no one had ever done a scientific study to verify what would kill the bacteria in cooked oysters,” said Otwell. “We needed some scientific evidence of this so-called, proper-cooking method to ensure the safest oyster.”
Otwell noted that while the federal and state governments continually advise consumers to eat their oysters cooked, everybody has their own recipe and method of cooking.
The Secret to Properly Cooked Oysters
Oysters charbroiling at Drago’s Restaurant in Metairie. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
The Louisiana oyster industry and ISSC engaged Otwell to conduct a study that would verify the thermal controls required for preventing bacterial problems in the consumption of oysters.
Working through one of his graduate students, Otwell ran a series of tests to determine the amount of heat necessary to kill bacteria naturally occurring in oysters found in the Gulf area, as well as in oysters that were given controlled levels of bacteria
Oysters were baked, fried and charbroiled at varying temperatures.
“From those test results, we could calculate what sort of time and temperature a restaurant should use to make sure they’re properly cooking their oysters,” said Otwell. “Restaurants now have a reference to establish cooking procedures or check their existing procedures to see if they are cooking at a safe level.”
And what did those test results reveal? Cooking seafood to an internal temperature of 145 degrees F for 15 seconds will kill any harmful bacteria present.
Louisiana Restaurants Make the Grade
According to Otwell, the vast majority of restaurants already were safely cooking their oysters, but now they have a benchmark to measure themselves
One of the restaurants that participated in the study was Drago’s Seafood, where charbroiled oysters are served up daily.
Owner Tommy Cvitanovich said the internal temperatures were recorded for his oysters after the cooking was done.
“The oysters got to 145 degrees very fast,” he said. “After taking the charbroiled oysters off the grill, the internal temperature continued to climb. So, all oysters reached and exceeded the critical temperature.”
“The way we cook them and the way they come off the grill, you don’t need a thermometer to realize they’ve been thoroughly cooked. When they come to the table, they’re still smoking and sizzling.”
Putting the Oyster Debate to Bed
Otwell said: “Seafood in general is probably the safest source of muscle protein available in the United States. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
Mike Voisin, a member of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force and owner of an oyster processing plant, said the next step is to validate the results. Validation involves an ISSC-standardized process, where the parameters of time and temperature for safely cooking oysters are established by submitting a number of samples.
Validation of the results will have to wait until next year, when the water starts warming up, because bacteria levels are lower in seafood during the winter.
Wrapping up his thoughts on the topic, Otwell said: “Seafood in general is probably the safest source of muscle protein available in the United States. There’s no doubt about it.”
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