Simple way to identify shrimp injected with jelly impurities

On October 22, the Food Safety Management Board (FSMB) of Da Nang City temporarily suspended and imposed an administrative penalty on the TN seafood business (No. 118 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Da Nang City) for discovering that lobsters were injected with agar impurities (agar is commonly known as a jelly-making substance).

Agar impurities are injected to increase the weight, making the lobsters look more attractive. During this inspection, the lobsters discovered were mainly small, sold for between 270,000 and 350,000 VND/kg.

Illustration photo.

This is not the first time shrimp injected with agar impurities have been discovered. Agar is one of the substances commonly used to increase the weight of shrimp because it is cheap.

In fact, agar is agar powder used to make jelly. It is not toxic. Using agar powder mixed with water and then injected into shrimp only increases the weight and makes the shrimp puff up, making it look fatter and more attractive, but it does not have the effect of making the shrimp fresh again.

However, if dead, rotten, or spoiled shrimp are injected with impurities to make them look fresher and consumers eat them, it will more or less be harmful to their health.

When seafood is injected with impurities, especially in liquid form, it becomes a favorable environment for pathogenic bacteria to thrive. Specifically: vibrio cholerae bacteria causes cholera; salmonella bacteria causes typhoid, diarrhea, and blood infection; escheria coli bacteria causes diarrhea and digestive disorders.

In addition, if the seller uses toxic preservatives such as borax, urea... it will be extremely dangerous. People who eat it are at risk of acute poisoning. Long-term use will cause disorders of the thyroid gland, nervous system...

To avoid buying shrimp injected with impurities, housewives should note the following points:

Fresh, clean shrimp have soft, curved bodies. Shrimp with impurities are often hard and straight.

Shrimp injected with impurities are often abnormally fat and stretched. The segments on the shrimp's body are almost stretched, especially the segment connecting the head and body.

Observation with the naked eye will show that shrimp injected with impurities when newly dead often have swollen heads, raised spines, and spread tails. The head and body quickly separate.

When cooked, the shrimp will release a lot of water and the shrimp meat will shrink. If the shrimp is injected with jelly, when cooked, it will be easy to see a layer of jelly between the shrimp meat and shell, especially at the head, under the gills.