I agree w/Happy Onion - give 'em a try. Check for a ‘use by’ date and look at the product to see if it looks good and is a good size for your recipe.
The canned oysters are desperation worthy buys only. Just look in the refrigerated meat and fish cases for some in see thru glass or plastic containers. Is Safeway the only store you have?
WM here used to carry these:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hilton-Fresh-Hand-Shucked-Oysters-Extra-Small-16-oz/196531612
but don’t seem to have them any more.
I’m in Houston, 50 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, with several oyster houses supplying local fish markets and restaurants and this is what WM shipped in. I tried some; they were okay but I’d rather have had Gulf oysters. Also I’ve never had Pacific oysters on the half shell so I don’t know how they stack up.
I remember reading several years ago, after the BP oil well blow-out when the oyster population here was harmed, of some processor in Louisiana working on flash frozen oysters. Haven’t heard anything more but you might look online for developments.
