LettersHong Kong consumers need not be at sea when it comes to oysters

Readers discuss safety when processing and consuming oysters, the handling of an incident on the MTR’s East Rail line, and school classroom management

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Fresh oysters on sale at a food court in Causeway Bay on February 14. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 11:30am, 4 Apr 2026

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Earlier this year, the Centre for Food Safety noted that a number of Hongkongers had fallen ill after eating raw oysters, and pointed out that the norovirus is a pathogen of concern in such cases.

There are food safety and hygiene regulations in place regarding raw oysters, so how do poisonings occur?

There are two different types of oysters eaten here. One type is locally cultivated. They are always cooked first because these species live in estuaries where the fresh water carries pathogens. The second type are oysters farmed in the open sea. They are the ones that are eaten raw. They belong to different species from those farmed here, and are imported to Hong Kong.

Noroviruses are common in seawater and all oysters. Every participant in the live oyster supply chain has to follow procedures to suppress the number of noroviruses.

The grower, in the US or Europe, removes oysters from the sea and sends them to a processing plant where they are depurated – kept in tanks where clean cold water is pumped through to flush out pathogens – and are also bombarded with UV light. Before the live oysters are loaded onto a plane to Hong Kong, they are usually tested for norovirus and issued with a health certificate. While in transit, regulations regarding temperature must be followed.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Readers discuss safety when processing and consuming oysters, the handling of an incident on the MTR’s East Rail line, and school classroom management

Readers discuss safety when processing and consuming oysters, the handling of an incident on the MTR’s East Rail line, and school classroom management