The great raw oyster withdrawal of 2015 is now over: Vancouver Coastal Health is giving the green light to local restaurants to serve raw oysters harvested in British Columbia once again, following a month-long moratorium due to safety concerns.
[am2_see_also]
As of August 12, area restaurants were required to cook all B.C.-harvested oysters in light of an outbreak of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infection.
To date, there have been 60 reported cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in B.C. related to raw shellfish consumption, of which 28 came from the region monitored by VCH.
We can thank the return of the risk factors to their baseline levels for the ban lift, which means more local options for raw oysters at Vancouver’s plentiful seafood restaurants. Diners will, of course, still see the warning notice on menus regarding the risks of consuming raw shellfish; those have been in place in Vancouver since 2007.
Follow Channels and Categories