There is no difference in the freshness between oysters “for cooking” and “for raw”. However, the difference is the sea area in which they are grown.

Oysters “for raw” are 1) grown where each prefectures specified as “clean sea area”, and/or 2) purified and disinfected with sterilization equipment for more than 20 hours.

On the other hand, the oysters “for cooking” are grown where each prefectures specified as “conditional sea area” – where the sea is rich in planktons. The oysters with the indication of “for cooking” have not been processed to provide as raw dish. Hence, even if it is fresh as “for raw” oysters, please heat properly before eating.

As mentioned, the oysters “for cooking” are grown in the sea rich in oysters’ foods (planktons), therefore the oyster itself is very large and rich in taste.

There are usually outbreaks of Norovirus during the end of December to February. Yamakita Suisan’s oysters are grown in the area specified “for cooking”, therefore please make sure to heat carefully. Norovirus usually dies with heat. When you cook the oysters, heat the core of oysters at 85 – 90 degrees celsius for more than 90 seconds which will prevent infectivity. As Norovirus is weak to heat, please make sure to cook carefully and enjoy oysters safely and securely.

→ Link to Q&A of Norovirus by “Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare” (Japanese only)

Subdivide the oysters with plastic bags/ziplocks and freeze them.

Before freezing the oysters, wash gently with salted water. Once washed, you can divide them into the easy-to-eat quantities and place them flat into the plastic bag (try to spread and not let them overlap). Then place them into the freezer. Before you cook, defreeze with room temperature.

When you cook fried oysters, it will be easier to freeze oysters covered with the Panko bread crumbs. In this case, you should fry them from its frozen state. Carefully fry until the core of oysters are cooked.

We are trying best to strictly select oysters one by one before shipping to our customers. However, occasionally some shells may be left at the adductor muscles.

In order to avoid any injury when you eat, please check the oysters one by one when washing the oysters before you cook. If you find any shlles please do remove them. Thank you for your cooperation.

Yamakita Suisan’s Oysters are washed carefully with sea waters before shipping. Therefore, please do not wash too much at your home.

Take out the amount you are going to use for cooking and check if there is any shells left at the adductor muscles.d

Make salted water with 1litre of water and about 20g of salt. Gently wash them by hand. Change the salted water 2-3 times.

Some people prefer to wash oysters with shredded radish and/or starches. However, we do not recommend you to wash with them as it might over wash the oysters.

Sometimes small crabs (oyster crab) are contained in the oyster bag. There is no issue in the oyster quality so please remove them before cooking.