Thursday 28 July 2011

Do NOT suck their heads!

SPAIN (Agencies) ... you weren't going to, were you? Good thing, because the Spanish Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria (AESAN, Food Safety Agency) has put out an advisory that a metal called cadmium accumulates in the heads of shrimp, prawns and other crustacean, where the viscera (offal?) is located. In sufficient quantities cadmium can cause kidney and/or liver malfunction and it takes from 10 to 30 years to eliminate from the body, says the agency, which recommends doing away with the very Spanish custom of sucking on the heads of ... hey, if you're sitting at a chiringuito on the beach in Spain, look around. Another recent warning from AESAN involves fish such as>>>
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swordfish (pez espada), shark (tiburón, but served up as cazón), red tuna (atún rojo).
Although the news is not new, AESAN says that these and other 'blue' fish contain mercury and are thus a risk for the fetus in pregnancy, and to children under three. It recommends no more than 50 grammes of these  per week in children from 3 to 12. Apparently the larger the fish, the more mercury it carries in its fat.

1 comment:

Sue said...

I am not a head sucker, but could you please tell me if it's okay to boil up the heads and shells top make the stock for a paella? Been doing it for years and my cadmium level depends mainly on the heavy metal I like listening to. Rock on.