Sucking shrimp heads is delicious. But do you really know what you are eating?
If you like sucking the insides of shrimp heads, stop right away. The Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN) warns that this crustacean may seem harmless, but it can be harmful to health.
The reason given has to do with the shrimp’s head, which contains a concerning amount of cadmium, a heavy metal that is highly toxic to humans.
The Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition points out that “the ingestion of cadmium is four times greater when consuming the head of the shrimp compared to the abdomen”.
AECOSAN explains that this can cause a range of health problems, as “it has the ability to accumulate in the body over the years, leading to kidney dysfunction and failure, bone demineralization and even to cancer”.
It is also pointed out that seafood, especially shrimp, tends to accumulate high levels of cadmium, especially in the head and hepatopancreas, a vital part of the digestive system.
Since 1993, the Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency (Agencia Española de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición) has been warning about the health consequences of this metal. Cadmium can accumulate in the liver, kidneys and can even demineralize the bones. And if the exposure is prolonged, it can even cause cancer.
Another disadvantage of prawns is their high cholesterol content: each 100 grams of prawns or prawns contain about 200 milligrams of this substance. The recommended daily dose is less than 300 milligrams, so it’s a rather high value.