HOUSTON – The average person eats almost 4 pounds of shrimp a year, but a big question is whether the shrimp you buy at the grocery store is safe.
Consumer Reports bought 342 packages of frozen shrimp at stores all across the country and tested them for bacteria and for antibiotics that could make you sick.
None of the shrimp sold in the U.S. should have antibiotics in them because the Food and Drug Administration doesn't allow it. They worry humans will build up resistances to the drugs we rely on to treat illnesses.
Even so, Consumer Reports found antibiotics in 11 samples of shrimp imported from Vietnam, Thailand and Bangladesh. They were purchased at retailers we have here in Houston, like Costco, Kroger, Sprouts and Walmart. Consumer Reports says farm-raised foreign shrimp is more likely to have antibiotics that you shouldn't eat.
Researchers tested 284 samples of raw shrimp and 60 percent tested positive for bacteria like salmonella and e-coli that could make you sick.
Cooking should kill the bacteria, but the warmer shrimp gets, the more easily bacteria grows. That's why you should always buy it last at the store, so it's not sitting in your cart as you shop. You can also ask employees to pack it in ice for the trip home.
Consumer reports' tests suggest that wild shrimp from U.S. waters may be worth the higher price. It was the least likely to harbor bacteria or contain chemicals.
Stores are required to label shrimp, whether it was wild or farm-raised and what country it came from.
Look at those signs and also don't put any stock into claims that shrimp is organic or natural, because there are no U.S. standards for the organic labels on seafood.