Subcontinental Shrimp Shelled, Sorted, Shipped to Sicken You

[956 Worldwide 34715]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/indian-company-sold-contaminated-shrimp-023949494.html
 

I fucking love shrimp but it’s been a longtime prejudice of mine (a bias from growing up on the coast) that it is not worth it to eat non-U.S. origin shrimp. (Or local when traveling in Europe or other places). I won’t buy it in a store and I don’t order restaurant shrimp unless I know the place and what I am getting. Shrimp farms overseas are fucking disgusting and always have been.

Anyway, check your labels at HEB. And for the love of God DO NOT BUY any food at all that was packaged on the subcontinent aside from maybe spice blends. And pro-tip, aside from a very few coastal retailers all wild-caught shrimp” is flash-frozen at sea and the “fresh stuff in the counter has been thawed out.  Frozen wild Gulf shrimp is nearly always your superior choice. 
 

Quote

His company, Choice Canning, supplies shrimp to major U.S. grocery chains including Walmart, Aldi, ShopRite and H.E.B. It touts its “state-of-the-art processing plant” and “commitment to international standards of quality.”But Farinella said he soon discovered that Choice Canning operated unsanitary offsite “peeling sheds” and routinely approved the export of shrimp tainted with antibiotics in violation of U.S. food safety law.

The company’s treatment of workers was equally jarring to Farinella, he said. Migrant workers rarely had a day off, slept in overcrowded, bedbug-infested dorms and were restricted from leaving the walled-off company compound in Amalapuram, according to Farinella. They were mostly women who were often recruited from the poorest sections of the country.

 

[RDCanecutter 26452]

[Just ate shrimp last night, waiting.]

[SimonBolivar 10958]

Palacios shrimp or nothing

[TheStoicPaisano 9922]

Iodine poisonin’

[Disco Strangler 1878]

Bedbug shrimp, tainted shrimp, human traffic shrimp, anti-biodic shrimp, unsanitary condition shrimp . . . . .

[RPM 26322]

[Brisketexan 105155]

^^^

Grew up on shrimp purchased from my dad's "shrimp guy" in a roadside van.  He would set up at a few locations, when dad saw he was at one of 'em, we got shrimp.  Good days.

[RPM 26322]

^^^

Dad used to run I-45 daily. More than once he brought home an Igloo full he bought along the way. It was Bubbatime.

 

[HouTex 1878]

One of the pluses to staying/fishing at Hackberry Lodge south of Lake Charles is the fresh shrimp they sell at the lodge.  I’m sure other lodges in Louisiana sell shrimp as well.  They said the shrimp were not from the large commercial shrimpers that stay offshore for a week or so at a time and flash freeze the shrimp, but from local bay shrimpers.  Either way, the shrimp are fantastic.  When I used to go offshore on chartered trips from Freeport a favorite thing was to trade a case or two of beer for a sack of shrimp from the offshore shrimpers.  Not sure if that shrimp was ever frozen but it was fantastic.  I agree with the OP-never buy farm raised shrimp.  

[Hate 20113]

Just had shrimp brochette at lunch. They were delicious. 

[BabaYaga 15301]

1 hour ago, RDCanecutter said:

[Just ate shrimp last night, waiting.]

U ded....

[midtown 3346]

I have not, nor will ever knowingly buy any seafood from SE Asia after watching a documentary about their practices.   If its not Gulf shrimp no thanks 

Edited April 4 by midtown

[Hate 20113]

What do you eat on your trips to SE Asia?

[Bevo 13579]

6 minutes ago, Hate said:

What do you eat on your trips to SE Asia?

It tastes like shrimp.

[DixonHur 11340]

1 hour ago, RPM said:

Not sure how old this photo is, but ain't no way I'm eating shrimp bought on the side of the road for $2.50/lb in 2024.

[midtown 3346]

What do you eat on your trips to SE Asia?

SE Asia tuna

[smuggs 9353]

1 hour ago, HouTex said:

One of the pluses to staying/fishing at Hackberry Lodge south of Lake Charles is the fresh shrimp they sell at the lodge.  I’m sure other lodges in Louisiana sell shrimp as well.  They said the shrimp were not from the large commercial shrimpers that stay offshore for a week or so at a time and flash freeze the shrimp, but from local bay shrimpers.  Either way, the shrimp are fantastic.  When I used to go offshore on chartered trips from Freeport a favorite thing was to trade a case or two of beer for a sack of shrimp from the offshore shrimpers.  Not sure if that shrimp was ever frozen but it was fantastic.  I agree with the OP-never buy farm raised shrimp.  

 

Holly Beach Seafood on 27 also buys from locals. Excellent crabs in late summer, too:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057658501676

[gofuckyourself 8339]

2 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

^^^

Grew up on shrimp purchased from my dad's "shrimp guy" in a roadside van.  He would set up at a few locations, when dad saw he was at one of 'em, we got shrimp.  Good days.

Brother?

Every South Padre trip we'd stop at the side of the road for the bag o' shrimp, and have a bacon wrapped grilled shrimp feast back at home. 

[midtown 3346]

51 minutes ago, DixonHur said:

Not sure how old this photo is, but ain't no way I'm eating shrimp bought on the side of the road for $2.50/lb in 2024.

Any trip back from Padre Island cerca 1980's saw my dad stop at every one of these damn vans for the best price for mediums and a few jumbos.  If we were lucky he'd pick one of us to leave the station wagon and watch the magic happen 

[High Plains Drifter 11050]

 

heading to S. Padre this summer with the family. 

Do the local seafood joints on the island buy fresh gulf shrimp? Do I actually need to check with head chef before ordering my fried shrimp and fish platter?

[Jerry Callo 8704]

1 hour ago, midtown said:

I have not, nor will ever knowingly buy any seafood from SE Asia after watching a documentary about their practices.   If its not Gulf shrimp no thanks 

Vietnamese catfish is all too often substituted for other fish filets - farm raised catfish, sole, grouper, . . .   

Only fish I order out is Patagonian toothfish.

[Jerry Callo 8704]

7 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

heading to S. Padre this summer with the family. 

Do the local seafood joints on the island buy fresh gulf shrimp? Do I actually need to check with head chef before ordering my fried shrimp and fish platter?

Don't ever assume that a restaurant is serving local seafood.  

[midtown 3346]

7 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

Don't ever assume that a restaurant is serving local seafood.

Agreed.   The global fish market system allows you to have fresh fish (aka flash frozen) almost anywhere with a fairly major airport.  The idea that a restaurant is spending time and resources to get fish off the dock is probably pretty low.   The days of "distance from the coast" as a sign of fresh fish I think it pretty far gone these days.

Edited April 4 by midtown

[F250 28781]

2 hours ago, RPM said:

There used to be a roadside shrimp van near me just outside of Startzville. I was never brave enough to try hill country roadside shrimp. Although, it may have been freshly sourced from Canyon Lake so the quality might have been great, I'll never know.

[956 Worldwide 34715]

14 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

heading to S. Padre this summer with the family. 

Do the local seafood joints on the island buy fresh gulf shrimp? Do I actually need to check with head chef before ordering my fried shrimp and fish platter?

Don’t assume.  The Dirty Al’s network of restaurants is good with their shrimp. They will also tell you what fish is from the Gulf and isn’t.  Ceviche Ceviche also serves gulf shrimp.

Gulf and Texas shrimp is a point of pride and most places will tell you if that’s what they serve. If they aren’t telling you, then it’s probably the farmed stuff. 

[flatdawgs 1278]

On 4/4/2024 at 12:17 PM, Jerry Callo said:

Only fish I order out is Patagonian toothfish.

@Nicole44?

 

On 4/4/2024 at 12:27 PM, 956 Worldwide said:

Gulf and Texas shrimp is a point of pride and most places will tell you if that’s what they serve. If they aren’t telling you, then it’s probably the farmed stuff. 

Same thing here in the PNW. Decent restaurants will tell you if the fish is local; seafood is serious bidness here. Alaska Airlines flies a metric fuckton of fresh Yukon or Copper River salmon to Seattle in season as well, plus you can often buy the local stuff fresh off the boats in town. I look for the Texas/Gulf stuff when I'm down there, for the same reasons.

[RPM 26322]

You have to really try to find bad seafood in Seattle. I do miss me some Ivar's.

[Brisketexan 105155]

You have to really try to find bad seafood in Seattle. I do miss me some Ivar's.

For a while, you could get Ivar’s chowder at Costco. It’s damned good stuff.

[ClubWhatever 12146]

I assume that anything labeled "prawn" is from SE Asia.   Is that right?

[flatdawgs 1278]

2 hours ago, RPM said:

You have to really try to find bad seafood in Seattle. I do miss me some Ivar's.

Grew up on that stuff (Brisket's right about the chowdah, although Duke's is probably better). The original is a block from the office. The Alaska cruise season literally started a few minutes ago, so we won't be able to get in any of those places or buy our fish at Pike Place Market for 6 months now.

[RPM 26322]

Our base was at Pier 36. Every payday we would pile in the MPU (Mobile Party Unit), cash our check at Sear's and head straight down Alaskan Way to Ivar's Fish Bar for Payday pigout. The sidewalk fish bar sold the same food you got inside, but a whole lot cheaper. My favorite was a double order of fried oysters, fried clams and a cup of nectar.

Edited April 6 by RPM

[SquishMitten 10415]

On 4/4/2024 at 12:13 PM, HouTex said:

One of the pluses to staying/fishing at Hackberry Lodge south of Lake Charles is the fresh shrimp they sell at the lodge.  I’m sure other lodges in Louisiana sell shrimp as well.  They said the shrimp were not from the large commercial shrimpers that stay offshore for a week or so at a time and flash freeze the shrimp, but from local bay shrimpers.  Either way, the shrimp are fantastic.  When I used to go offshore on chartered trips from Freeport a favorite thing was to trade a case or two of beer for a sack of shrimp from the offshore shrimpers.  Not sure if that shrimp was ever frozen but it was fantastic.  I agree with the OP-never buy farm raised shrimp.  

This is the way to go. Pull up to a shrimp boat and make a trade. A case or two of beer for a giant bag of fresh shrimp is a hell of a deal

[Beau Vine 54254]

On 4/4/2024 at 2:25 PM, F250 said:

There used to be a roadside shrimp van near me just outside of Startzville. I was never brave enough to try hill country roadside shrimp. Although, it may have been freshly sourced from Canyon Lake so the quality might have been great, I'll never know.

I frequently buy from that dude who parks off 130 at the intersection with 80 between SM and Luling and have only gotten violent diarreah a couple of times!

[F250 28781]

6 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

For a while, you could get Ivar’s chowder at Costco. It’s damned good stuff.

Ivan's chowder sounds like something you catch after spending a weekend in Lubbock.

[956 Worldwide 34715]

3 hours ago, RPM said:

Our base was at Pier 36. Every payday we would pile in the MPU (Mobile Party Unit), cash our check at Sear's and head straight down Alaskan Way to Ivar's Fish Bar for Payday pigout. The sidewalk fish bar sold the same food you got inside, but a whole lot cheaper. My favorite was a double order of fried oysters, fried clams and a cup of nectar.

I’ve only been to Seattle once but Ivars was freaking ambrosia. 

[Neonmoon 38129]

I just ate some seafood goya from an Asian market. How long do I have to live?

 

[956 Worldwide 34715]

6 hours ago, ClubWhatever said:

I assume that anything labeled "prawn" is from SE Asia.   Is that right?

Strong chance but in British English they usually just use prawn for shrimp. There’s really no way to tell except look at the origin. 
 

And as @flatdawgs and I mentioned— usually local seafood is a point of pride and marketing advantage so they’ll tell you at restaurants if it’s local or close to it. 

[F250 28781]

2 hours ago, Neonmoon said:

I just ate some seafood goya from an Asian market. How long do I have to live?

 

 

[Bevo&Pevo 5205]

North American seafood or nothing.

Just waiting until foreign countries start sending us Mexican cuisine. 

[elfenix 34310]

30 minutes ago, Bevo&Pevo said:

North American seafood or nothing.

Just waiting until foreign countries start sending us Mexican cuisine. 

like mexico?

[Gatorubet 30246]

10 hours ago, RPM said:

Our base was at Pier 36. Every payday we would pile in the MPU (Mobile Party Unit), cash our check at Sear's and head straight down Alaskan Way to Ivar's Fish Bar for Payday pigout. The sidewalk fish bar sold the same food you got inside, but a whole lot cheaper. My favorite was a double order of fried oysters, fried clams and a cup of nectar.

 

10 hours ago, flatdawgs said:

Grew up on that stuff (Brisket's right about the chowdah, although Duke's is probably better). The original is a block from the office. The Alaska cruise season literally started a few minutes ago, so we won't be able to get in any of those places or buy our fish at Pike Place Market for 6 months now.

Co-sign.   Back in the early 80s there was some dive diner where all the taxi cab drivers went after shift that served the best Hangtown Fry you’ve ever had.  It was my drunk go-to late a.m. food requirement.

Love that city. From funky Chinatown eats where nobody speaks English 

To the Dada-esqe Pike Street stuff

To the touristy Space Needle that a fuck’n love.

 

[gsoda3 3263]

Serious question here. When did Gulf seafood lose the stigma of dirty seafood from the polluted Gulf?

For whomever asked up thread, the UK eats prawns and most of them are from China. Most of their seafood nowadays I assume is from China. Up til about 2010 a lot of their seafood was from Iceland and the Scandinavian countries but that changed.

[BabaYaga 15301]

On 4/6/2024 at 3:42 PM, Beau Vine said:

I frequently buy from that dude who parks off 130 at the intersection with 80 between SM and Luling and have only gotten violent diarreah a couple of times!

Friend that used his cooler to rinse the shrimp, then half-ass rinsed it out, then filled it with ice, and beer.  I met Jesus that night in the bathroom.....

[freyguy 4278]

On 4/6/2024 at 11:59 PM, gsoda3 said:

Serious question here. When did Gulf seafood lose the stigma of dirty seafood from the polluted Gulf?

For whomever asked up thread, the UK eats prawns and most of them are from China. Most of their seafood nowadays I assume is from China. Up til about 2010 a lot of their seafood was from Iceland and the Scandinavian countries but that changed.

Yeah, when I see gulf seafood, I think of "pre-oiled" goodness....

[BabaYaga 15301]

On 4/6/2024 at 11:59 PM, gsoda3 said:

Serious question here. When did Gulf seafood lose the stigma of dirty seafood from the polluted Gulf?

For whomever asked up thread, the UK eats prawns and most of them are from China. Most of their seafood nowadays I assume is from China. Up til about 2010 a lot of their seafood was from Iceland and the Scandinavian countries but that changed.

Prawn and scallop dredging/trawling got such a bad rap over there for destroying seabeds that it is cheaper to just import them