WEBVTT - Is It Safe to Eat Raw Oysters During Any Month?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there's an old saying that you should

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<v Speaker 1>never eat raw oysters in any month that doesn't have

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<v Speaker 1>the letter R in its name. Most months do. The

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<v Speaker 1>only ones without an R happened to be May, June, July,

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<v Speaker 1>and August. But why is this and is it really true?

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<v Speaker 1>The idea behind the saying is that it's unsafe to

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<v Speaker 1>eat oysters during these months because it could make you sick.

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<v Speaker 1>You'll notice that these four months fall in a block

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<v Speaker 1>towards the end of spring through the heat of summer

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<v Speaker 1>here in the northern hemisphere. That heat is why there

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<v Speaker 1>is a grain of truth behind this old saying. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>we've talked before on the show about how bacteria live

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<v Speaker 1>all around us. Many are harmless, some are even helpful,

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<v Speaker 1>but some are pathogenic, meaning they can cause disease. There

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<v Speaker 1>are a number of species of bacteria in the genus

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<v Speaker 1>Vibrio that can cause nasty cases of food and water

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<v Speaker 1>borne illness. A cholera is caused by a Vibrio species.

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<v Speaker 1>Bacteria in this genus live mostly in salt water and

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<v Speaker 1>during warm weather, when the water temperature hits about sixty

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<v Speaker 1>eight degrees fahrenheit or twenty celsius. They absolutely thrive, for example,

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<v Speaker 1>in places like the Gulf of Mexico, where lots of

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<v Speaker 1>oysters are harvested, and in the past, before refrigeration technology

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<v Speaker 1>was available and affordable, oysters harvested in hot weather wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>have been kept cold on their journey from the sea

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<v Speaker 1>to you. So eating raw oysters during the summer theoretically

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<v Speaker 1>could increase your chances of having contact with fibrio and

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<v Speaker 1>becoming sick. It doesn't help that it's hard to tell

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<v Speaker 1>with oysters and fibriel. Lots of the time, food that's

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<v Speaker 1>gone off and could give you food poisoning is gonna

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<v Speaker 1>smell or look bad. When food goes bad, it's because

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<v Speaker 1>microorganisms have started to eat it before you had a

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<v Speaker 1>chance to, and some of them might change the flavor

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<v Speaker 1>or color or texture of the food, and some of

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<v Speaker 1>them might be pathogenic. Unfortunately, oysters carrying fibriobacteria don't usually

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<v Speaker 1>look or taste any different, so there's no way to

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<v Speaker 1>know until twenty four to forty eight hours later, when

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<v Speaker 1>gastonitis sets in. You know the fever, chills, nausea, diarrhea.

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<v Speaker 1>It'll usually pass on its own, though cases can be

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<v Speaker 1>severe or even deadly. But let's be clear, infections caused

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<v Speaker 1>by Fibrio species are rare these days. Americans consume nearly

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<v Speaker 1>two point five billion oysters every year. The CDC estimates

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<v Speaker 1>that we have about eighty thousand Fibrio related illnesses and

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<v Speaker 1>one hundred deaths, about half of which are due to

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<v Speaker 1>contaminated food. That's not very many cases compared to say, salmonilla,

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<v Speaker 1>which causes one point two million illnesses and four hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and fifty deaths every year. Still, it's something to be

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<v Speaker 1>aware of, especially if you're at risk for having a

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<v Speaker 1>worse bout of illness from a potential Vibrio infection due

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<v Speaker 1>to being immunocompromised or having a liver condition. In those cases,

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<v Speaker 1>you might want to eat your oysters steamed, baked, deep fried.

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<v Speaker 1>There are plenty of non raw options, and cooking oysters

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<v Speaker 1>to a safe temperature will kill off any fibryobacteria that

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<v Speaker 1>may be present. However, these days, there are industry practices

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<v Speaker 1>and government regulations that make seafood like oysters as safe

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<v Speaker 1>as possible. A water quality can be monitored and for example,

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<v Speaker 1>in Louisiana, oyster boats are required to have on board

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<v Speaker 1>refrigeration to keep those slimy buddies cool from the moment

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<v Speaker 1>they leave the water, no matter what the weather's like.

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<v Speaker 1>Just make sure your raw oysters arrive to you refrigerated

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<v Speaker 1>or on ice. They should smell fresh and briny, not fishy,

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<v Speaker 1>and any reputable kitchen or market staff will be able

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<v Speaker 1>to tell you where they're from and when they were harvested,

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<v Speaker 1>because oysters legally have to come with those labels in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States. Today's episode is based on the article

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<v Speaker 1>Factor fiction Raw oysters are safe to eat every month

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<v Speaker 1>of the year on HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Don Parretano.

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<v Speaker 1>Rain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with

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<v Speaker 1>how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang.

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