Prices of raw molluscan shellfish in different countries around the world are tied to perceived risk of becoming ill if consumed. Wholesale prices of oysters in the southern New England from 1880 to 2010 are analyzed in relation to introduction of flush toilets and sewer systems in the early 20th Century, the initiation of the US National Shellfish Sanitation Program in 1925 and renewed consumer interest in consuming raw shellfish in the latter half of the 20th Century.