Pull Tab Oysters

Ever cut yourself trying to open an oyster? So have a lot of French consumers--about 2,500 annually, according to the French aquaculture industry. An experimental "pull tab" for Pacific oysters recently patented in France could reduce injuries. French aquaculturist Yves LeBorgne demonstrated this oyster-opening technology was presented in March 1996 at the Conference for Shellfish Growers, an annual event sponsored by Washington Sea Grant Program.

The "pull tab," called a "Fizz," consists of a plastic tab connected to a loop of stainless steel wire. The wire loop is threaded around the oyster's adductor muscle, which holds the shell closed. When pulled, the wire acts like a noose, slicing the muscle. Tug the tab and the oyster falls open.

Shellfish growers attending the March, 1996 conference were intrigued by the Fizz, but dubious that U.S. retail customers would pay the necessary premium prices for easy-open oysters, Fizz-style. The Fizz must be slipped into anesthetized oysters by hand, which would increase packers' labor costs.

LeBorgne predicts that French markets would easily absorb an additional $1.00- $1.50/kilo for oysters that were easy to open. However, "in France, oysters are always sold single and in the shell, even for cooking," said LeBorgne, an official of SATMAR, a major European shellfish hatchery. In contrast, most U.S. retail sales are for shucked oysters; whole and half-shell oysters are primarily consumed at restaurants.

According to LeBorgne, Fizz technology is still being fine-tuned. The current generation of stainless steel Fizzes cuts through oyster muscle better than earlier versions made with nylon cord. The stainless steel is also easier to install because "it is more rigid and can be bent to form a U-shape or something like a hook," said LeBorgne. "However the stainless steel seems to make electrolysis and the oysters don't like it."

The French are ahead of Washington growers in oyster production as well as oyster technology. France produces about 300 million pounds of Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) each year, compared to about 8-10 million pounds for Washington state.

Contact: Terry Nosho, aquaculture specialist, Washington Sea Grant Program, at (206) 543-2821 or email:nosho@u.washington.edu.

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