again, this is from fabulous fallacies by tad tuleja..... "years ago, when refrigerators were still unknown and the ice-man cameth every day to keep your icebox filled, you had to be pretty particular about what you put in your mouth, especially in the summer months, when food spoilage was a common occurence. in those days lovers of shellfish developed a fairly reliable rule of thumb to remind themselves when to be wary. you could eat oysters and other shellfish in any month with an "r" in it; months without an "r" (that is , the summer months, May through August) were taboo. this was a pretty good rule then, at least in the northern hemisphere, but it became obsolete with the advent of modern refigeration. no oyster now travels cross-country in anything but an air-conditioned car, and as a result, you can enjoy them just as safely in June as in March." ashley montagu and edward darling, the prevalence of nonsence (harper & row, 1967).
My brother in BR refuses to eat raw oysters ANYTIME. He used to love 'em but now he's scared of the toxins... ...is that things overblown or is it legitimate???? ...I still eat 'em... ...how 'bout y'all????
I'll eat 'em any time I can get 'em. There is a restaurant right around the corner from my house that has raw oysters for 15 cents apiece every Monday. A friend of mine's brother all of a sudden quit eating beef because he is afraid of catching mad cow disease. He won't even eat a hamburger now. I am going to tell him that chickens are full of bird flu and that they have discovered mad pig disease in pork.
It is NEVER safe to eat raw oysters. I do it all the time, of course, but it is taking a chance. http://www.cspinet.org/new/oyster_6_29.htm http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-fdb14.html http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/masnotes/rawshellfish.html
i had a friend that got hepatitis from eating raw oysters. but i still eat them raw (that's when they are at their best). i think you ruin them when you cook them.
is a life without risk worth living? i am sure if we calculated real risk assessments of our activities and took a rational approach to it, we would continue to eat oysters and drive alot less. thats is, if we cared about risk, which i mostly dont.
The R rule As a rule of thumb the don't eat oysters in months without an R is still a pretty good rule. Oysters spawn in the summer months and become milky due to the presence of what I'll call "mating fluids". This changes their texture and flavor and makes them a lot less desireable to eat. They are still ok to eat fried though. The R rule is more for spawning and less for spoilage.
You can get Hepatitis A from eating any food prepared by someone infected. Something to think about next trip to McDonalds. Many of us have had it without knowing it. :shock:
That's it I'M DONE with raw oysters..... I'm not afraid of gettin' sick.... But THIS make me SICK.... MATING FLUIDS???????? MATING FLUIDS???????? I'm done.
