Red Oysters – New Delicacy Or Product Of The Environment?
Hillman Explains Why Gulf Coast Oysters Are Turning Colors

Oyster lovers across America may have a new delicacy to sink their teeth into this season – red oysters. And they’re not turning colors for the New Year. Hillman, the renowned seafood company made famous for pioneering the advanced Post Harvest Process (PHP), cryogenically freezing oysters for the food service and retail industries to allow for safer, superior seafood products, explains why some Gulf Coast oysters are turning colors, alerting retailers and consumers that red oysters are not a public health concern.

“Velvet oysters” as some refer to the reddish-pink, discolored oysters, are a result of oysters feeding on pink plankton. Since oysters are filter feeders, when the plankton they consume is a pinkish color, the oyster meat then turns the pinkish color. According to Hillman, the new hue does not affect all oysters from the Gulf, nor the oysters’ flavor or texture.

“The discoloration in some Gulf oysters disappears once the oysters are cooked,” said Stephen Hillman, vice president of Hillman. “Oyster lovers need to be educated that they can still enjoy the same consistency in these oysters, and that they are in no way a threat to anyone’s health.”

In a statement released by the Texas Department of Health’s Kirk Wiles, director of the Seafood Safety Division, “oysters of reddish-pink discoloration found in Galveston Bay are not the result of bacterial contamination or toxic algae.”

“Therefore, the red to pinkish discoloration is not of public health concern,” Wiles said.

Although the red oysters are a rarity, Hillman said some may show up on plates across the country.

“Despite the closure of most of the harvestable areas in Galveston Bay due to excessive rainfall, most of our oysters are in short supply, but some have been affected by the discoloration,” Hillman said.

Catering to chefs, food service operations and retail grocers throughout the world since 1978, Hillman Oyster Co. harvests, IQF (Individually Quickly Frozen) processes and ships safer, “freshly- frozen,” value-added oysters on the half shell, prime oyster meats, breaded oysters, IQF scallops on the half shell and clams every day.