Shrimp and prawn as food
Shrimp and prawn are types of sea animals that are consumed worldwide. Although shrimp and prawns belong to different suborders of Decapoda, they are very similar in appearance and the terms are often used interchangeably in commercial farming and wild fisheries. A distinction is drawn in recent aquaculture literature, which increasingly uses the term "prawn" only for the freshwater forms of palaemonids and "shrimp" for the marine penaeids.[3] They are the animals most commonly used and killed for food production.[4]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
297 kJ (71 kcal)
3.98 g
0.080 g
Quantity
180 IU
Quantity
Quantity
83.01 g
0.0013 g
In the United Kingdom, the word "prawn" is more common on menus than "shrimp"; the opposite is the case in North America. The term "prawn" is also loosely used for any large shrimp, especially those that come 15 (or fewer) to the pound (such as "king prawns", yet sometimes known as "jumbo shrimp"). Australia and some other Commonwealth nations follow this British usage to an even greater extent, using the word "prawn" almost exclusively. When Australian comedian Paul Hogan used the phrase, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you" in an American television advertisement,[5] it was intended to make what he was saying easier for his American audience to understand, and was thus a deliberate distortion of what an Australian would typically say. In Britain very small crustaceans with a brownish shell are called shrimp, and are used to make potted shrimps. They are also used in dishes where they are not the primary ingredient. The French term crevette is often encountered in restaurants.
Shrimp and other shellfish are among the most common food allergens.[6] The Jewish dietary laws called Kashrut forbid the eating of shrimp.[7] Meanwhile, in Islamic dietary law, the Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali and Ja'fari schools allow the eating of shrimp, while the Hanafi school does not.
Nutrition[edit]
As with other seafood, shrimp is high in protein but low in food energy. A shrimp-based meal is also a significant source of cholesterol, from 122 mg to 251 mg per 100 g of shrimp, depending on the method of preparation.[8] Shrimp consumption, however, is considered healthy for the circulatory system because the lack of significant levels of saturated fat in shrimp means that the high cholesterol content in shrimp actually improves the ratio of LDL to HDL cholesterol and lowers triglycerides.[9]
Shrimp are high in levels of omega-3s (generally beneficial) and low in levels of mercury (generally toxic),[10] with an FDA study in 2010 showing a level of 0.001 parts per million, analysing only methylmercury.[11]
Shrimp chilled with ice in a market
Split raw shrimp
Frozen shrimp
Thai seafood set, shrimp soup, shrimp salad and deep fried shrimp
A bowl of boiled shrimp
Many various dishes are prepared using shrimp as a primary ingredient. Ebiko, or shrimp roe, sometimes translated as "shrimp flakes", is used as an ingredient in the preparation of sushi.[20] There also exists popcorn shrimp, garlic butter shrimp, and breaded or battered deep-fried small shrimp.
Fraud[edit]
Gel-injection adulteration[edit]
There is a growing food fraud concern in Asia–Pacific where where non-food grade gels are injected into shrimp and prawns to increase their weight and visual appeal. [21][22]
In 2022, Cambodia seized 7 tons of shrimp that had been injected with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) gel.[23] Three grams of CMC can be used to make 50 kilos of gel, which can be used for one tonne of shrimp.[24]
Laboratory testing[edit]
To combat food fraud, NIST offers Standard Reference Materials: Wild-caught Shrimp (RM 8258) and Aquacultured Shrimp (RM 8259) for testing.[25]
