[리얼푸드=육성연 기자] Oysters are a nutrient-rich food called “sea milk,” but it is also an ingredient that requires caution when consumed.
In late July, a 40-year-old man eating Louisiana raw oysters at a restaurant in Florida, USA, was diagnosed with Vibrio sepsis and died, and a similar incident occurred in 2018. Vibrio is acute sepsis caused by the Vibrio bacterium, which occurs mainly when eating raw fish.
In Korea, high school students who shared raw oysters in 2018 were infected with norovirus and contracted food poisoning. In an inspection conducted by the Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines in April, 7 cases of raw oysters with above-standard norovirus were found.
Raw oysters infected with bacteria, those with weakened immune systems are most at risk
There are various causes such as Vibrio sepsis, Salmonella and norovirus. Vibrio infection occurs from May to October when the water temperature rises and norovirus food poisoning occurs from November to March of the following year. In other words, in the case of raw oysters, it is important to pay attention to the safe intake of raw oysters not only in summer but also in winter. From September to December the intake of seasonal oysters increases and the temperature is low, so it is easy to be vigilant in handling.
Recently, as a factor that increases microbial infection, an increase in seawater temperature due to the climate crisis is also reported. In response to the news of the live oyster incident, infectious disease expert Professor Fred Lopez told local media that “the climate crisis may not only extend the period of microbial infection, but also broaden its geographic reach.” .
Mushroom-infected raw oysters are deadly for people with poor health. Raw oysters contaminated with bacteria can cause only mild symptoms like diarrhea in healthy people, but they can cause life-threatening blood infections in people with diabetes, liver or kidney disease, or a weak immune system. In the high-risk group, the mortality rate of Vibrio sepsis reaches 50%.
Lemon juice is not the solution · The “cooking” must be heated
But there is nothing wrong with oysters. The problem is the management and the recipe. Commercially available oysters are fine as long as proper care and recipes are followed. In the case of norovirus, it survives in sub-zero climatic conditions, but has the fatal disadvantage of being weak to “heat”. Therefore, the safest way to eat oysters is to cook them as much as possible. You can enjoy various cooked menu items like oyster soup, oyster jeon and oyster stew, and it’s delicious even when cooked with ingredients that go well with oysters like garlic and butter.
There are also oysters that need to be reheated and eaten, not “preferably”. Raw oysters are classified into “raw food” and “use for heating / cooking”. If there is a sign of peeled oysters on the product packaging such as “hot cooking” or “cooked”, be sure to reheat to 85 ℃ for at least 1 minute It should be.
Find out how to choose fresh oysters. For “shelled oysters”, it is best to keep your mouth tightly closed and put it in a clean tub, or have seawater in the shell. For “peeled oysters”, choose those with a milky color and a light black border. Fresh oysters are thick, fleshy and supple eggs.
While washing, soak the peeled oysters in salted water for 10 minutes and then wash, or dissolve the radish juice with water and leave for 5 minutes to help remove foreign substances. When eating raw oysters, lemon juice is only used to remove the fishy smell and improve the flavor because it cannot kill norovirus bacteria.
From an early age, oysters have been known as a food that aids skin beautification and physical strength. As it is rich in minerals and vitamins such as calcium, iron and iodine, it is a good food for growing children and recovering patients.
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