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In the US you can ask to see a restaurant’s oyster tags. All restaurants are required to keep these tags and to show them on request. If they don’t have them or
by gatherhunterer 7y ago
In the US you can ask to see a restaurant’s oyster tags. All restaurants are required to keep these tags and to show them on request. If they don’t have them or won’t produce them, don’t eat the oysters. The tags identify when they were harvested, when they expire and where they were harvested down to a specific zone of a designated harvesting region. If there is a harmful bacterial outbreak and a recall is issued then they can only comply if they have their tags and can identify affected product. Every type of mollusk comes with such a tag. If the restaurant is buying them cooked (i.e. canned) then they will have to tell you as much.
EDIT: I now recall one place I’ve worked that carried canned oysters and each can came with a tag attached as well.
There is no such thing as a guarantee of safety of any kind. With no reliable way of detecting this bacteria until people start getting sick, the smart thing to do is to take advantage of regulation. Also oysters are too amazing to only eat for a third of the year. They taste best chilled on a hot summer day.
- cascom 7y agoI’ve never heard of this - do people actually do this - or is this like requesting to see an elevators maintenance log the is on file in the managers office (e.g. something you can theoretically do, but no one ever does)
- gatherhunterer 7y agoIn restaurants the tags usually go straight to the office. In a butcher shop I handled all of the seafood and we kept a little plastic filing box with the tags in a folder by month. I think there is some rule about keeping them 30 days or so after the stop of sale. We were always able to provide the tags easily because health inspectors check them. I told customers about the tags when they asked about the safety of eating oysters. I don’t remember ever being asked for them by a customer but once I turned away a box of either oysters or mussels from a supplier whose tag had fallen off. Personally I would respect a customer who asks to see the tags once to see if the place is compliant. It’s like when a customer corrects someone who asks if the sushi-grade fish is “fresh” or “never frozen” (being frozen at extreme temperature is what makes it legally sushi-grade and the equipped ships are often at sea for months, so “fresh” is just a buzzword). It’s encouraging when consumers know the product.
- bobthepanda 7y agoIs this a federal thing? Restaurant regulations tend to be local, so I’d be very surprised.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- refurb 7y agoNot maintenance logs, but plenty of US states require the elevator inspection to be posted in the elevator which also shows an expiry date (next inspection due).
- throwaway744678 7y ago> ...oysters are too amazing to only eat for a third of the year. September to April: 3/4 of a year.
- tedunangst 7y agoI guess for some people the rule is the month must end with an r? Sep to Dec is 1/3. Anyway, Sep to Apr is only 2/3.
- refurb 7y agoDo they track when the oysters with different tags are served? I’m just imagining an outbreak and the restaurant saying, well, here are the 10 tags for the oysters I served in the past week. Helpful, but your still going to have to figure out which batch was affected.