The disgusting hidden secret about that shrimp dinner

“Can you tell me more about farm-raised seafood, where it comes from and if it is safe to eat,” asks an HSI member named Charles.

I’m glad you asked Charles, because summer is the time when seafood is most popular. Probably because you can just toss it on the grill.

And the most popular seafood in the U.S. is shrimp. But if people knew the real facts about how it’s raised, and where it comes from, it definitely wouldn’t be!

First, over 90 percent of the shrimp in the U.S. is imported, either from China, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico or Vietnam. AND it’s farmed. A double-whammy for contamination problems.

Top that off with the fact that the U.S. inspects less than 2 percent of all these shrimp imports!

That leaves a mighty big loophole for bad shrimp ending up on your table.

And here’s what I mean by “bad.”

Shrimp tops the list of imported seafood that has been found to have residues of pesticides and other chemicals that we’ve banned in the U.S. And since 98 percent goes uninspected, it sure sounds like a whole lot of contaminated shrimp could be crossing our borders.

And that’s not to mention the drugs and chemicals. Studies have found penicillin residues on shrimp as well as cleaning chemicals.

Add to that some pretty disgusting things found packed with the shrimp, such as rat and mouse hairs and insect pieces. There are also other contaminants you can’t see, like Salmonella and E. coli.

And when you’re talking about locales like Vietnam and Mexico, there may be another problem. Think about it — if you wouldn’t drink the water in those places, do you really want your seafood packed in ice made from it?

But if you’re a dedicated shrimp lover, there are still some options that can keep safe shrimp on your plate.

Experts recommend these wild-caught varieties:

• U.S. or Canadian Atlantic wild northern shrimp
• Pink shrimp from Oregon
• U.S. wild rock shrimp
• Spot prawns from Canada (British Columbia)

And if you’re eating out, you should also find out where that shrimp on the menu comes from.

Because now that you know these things, I bet you’ll never look at a plate of shrimp the same way again!

Sources:

“6 disgusting facts about shrimp” Emily Main, Rodale News, rodalenews.com