Raw Oysters Are Alive Until You Eat Them, In Case You Didn’t Know. The question is: when exactly do they die?

Oysters are exotic, bizarre, sexy, provocative. No matter how you feel about them, there’s a good chance they compel you to ask a question or two.

Most people think it’s a food safety issue. Keep the oyster alive as long as possible, to reduce the risk of bacterial contamination. And there is a little bit of truth to that. Oysters can carry a scary flesh-eating bacteria called vibrio vulnificus. You can get it from oysters or from swimming in warm brackish water. But let’s put that into perspective.

“When you slurp back oysters raw, they are still alive or just freshly killed or shucked prior to serving, which is why you oftentimes see them on ice,” says Alex Lewis, RD, LDN, a dietitian for Baze. This ensures they are fresh when eating, so they maintain the right flavor profile, texture and nutrient density. This makes them taste better and be better digested, too.

“It also ensures food safety,” she says. “Dead raw oysters run a greater risk of being infected with viruses and bacteria that can have a negative impact on your health—although the overall risk is relatively low,” she says. Low or not, that’s why they are in fact alive or freshly killed to keep you safe.

Now you know answer to Are Raw Oysters Still Alive When We Eat Them? You can say to all – I Just Learned That Raw Oysters Are Still Alive When You Eat Them. So Raw oysters can still be alive when we eat them, but not for the reason you may think.

Why is my oyster green?

THE TRUTH
If you come across an oyster with green-tinted gills, like the ones as shown above, consider yourself lucky. The greenish color comes from Haslea ostrearia, a type of microalgae that the oysters are eating. It’s not harmful to eat an oyster like this, and in fact, it’s a novelty that is highly sought after. In France, the Fine de Claire Verte oyster is considered to be a delicacy and command a higher price than its “blanc” counterparts. You can also find them in US at random, but more frequently in the winter when the blue diatoms are more abundant.

WATCH OUT FOR MARKETING
Oysters with green gills tend to be hyped up as an “ultra-rare specialty” and marked up in price accordingly. Don’t fall for it.

WHY A GREEN OYSTER REALLY INTRIGUES ME
According to a research study published in May 2014, scientists have proposed that the blue-green pigment found in Haslea algae, known as marennine, has been found to have powerful antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral properties. Perhaps the green oyster is our super sexy superfood?
So when exactly do oysters die after after you put them in your mouth? This is an issue that has been heavily debated, and the verdict is still out.

Julie Qiu, an oyster expert who pens the blog In A Half Shell, says oysters probably die when the meat is separated from the shell, because the oyster’s heart is right next to the bottom adductor muscle. That would mean that they aren’t technically still alive when you throw them down the hatch.

But whether the oyster’s death happens so swiftly is unclear ― one could speculate that the final moment doesn’t actually happen until the oyster comes in contact with the chomp of some hefty molars, or the acids in our stomachs.

But don’t fret, oysters aren’t the only thing people eat when alive ― sea urchins, shrimp and even octopus also make the list (though we often eat those foods cooked, too).

Either way, make sure you know how to shuck an oyster for the freshest experience possible. You should never, ever eat pre-shucked oysters that you bought at a store raw ― those should be cooked.

Do oysters poop?

THE SIMPLE TRUTH
Yes, yes they do. Oysters expel both real poop AND pseudofeces, which are particles of non-food things in their food.

THE “YOU ASKED FOR IT” TRUTH
See Erin Byers Murray, author of “Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm,” blog post about it.

MY PET PEEVE
When you Google “oysters” and “poop” together, the conversation takes on a depressingly misinformed, ignorant, fearful form. Some particularly one-sided, skewed articles by fairly prominent publications aren’t helping the cause. I mean, can someone just register oysterpoop.com and clear the air about the whole subject of oysters and foodborne illness? It happens, but it doesn’t happen nearly as much as it does with other stuff we eat. I just don’t understand why the same people who cringe at raw oysters are happily scarfing down mystery meat from sketchy fast food joints.