Preparation of oysters for opening, in a way which allows storage without ingress of infection, comprises drilling a hole near its adducter muscle and plugging it with a capillary tube

摘要

A hole (1) is drilled in an oyster shell (2), near its adducter muscle (4) and plugged with a capillary tube (6). The centre of this tube fills with liquid (8), either oyster blood from the muscle or liquid from its shell cavity, or antiseptic liquid from outside. The oyster can then be stored in a vessel of sea water until needed. The hole is later used to insert a sharp tool to cut the adducter muscle and open the oyster. The capillary tube is 4 to 18 mm long with an internal opening of less than 1 mm.