If you are a fan of seafood you might wanna think again about your food choices. Recently, a video about prawns and shrimps surfaced and it will absolutely disgust you. Almost makes you wanna stop eating prawns!
Apparently, companies in Vietnam are injecting gelatinous substances into prawns to make them look more ‘meaty’ and heavier! What’s worse, they are EXPORTING these shellfish to other countries for human consumption.
Vietnam is one of the top 5 countries for shrimp and prawn exporters. So you may want to be careful if you’re eating prawns.
The nasty video includes an interview with one of the companies in Vietnam and a tour of their ‘factory’. They use a machine to inject those substances into the head, body and tail of the shrimps.
By injecting these substances, 1kg or prawns can weigh up to 1.15kgs or 1.2kgs and they tend to look fresher and more plump as well. Hence, hiking up the price of these prawns.
The media even got to interview the person in charge of this disgusting business. And her nonchalant justification for running this sick show will definitely leave you speechless.
“Everyday I buy 30-50kgs of shrimps. After I inject them with substances, I sell them to seafood export companies in Ca Mau.”
“I have to do this because all local shrimp suppliers do this.”
The owner tells the media that they buy a chemical called CMC and mixes it with water, gelatin, and glucose. The gelatinous mixture is then poured into a high-pressure compressor where it will be pumped out from and into the prawns.
The video mentioned that these Vietnamese do not know what CMC is, and yet, they blissfully ignore the hazards and continue to inject their shrimps with this chemical.
CMC is actually Carboxymethyl Cellulose, something widely used in ice cream, breads, biscuits, and cakes. It helps with even distribution of fats the fats from other ingredients, such as eggs and cream. Hence, making the final product smoother.
Although the injected product is generally safe for consumption, it is still causing an outrage among netizens because it is after all a chemical that ISN’T suppose to be in seafood in the first place!
“DISGUSTING!! Damn Really have to know where our food comes from !! And whats in it ..on it..everything!!”
“Well that just ruins eating shrimp! Ahhhhhhh”
One Korean netizen who’s a shrimp importer himself even verifies these stories, claiming that these cases are not unheard of. *gasps!*
“As I am a shrimp buyer(Importer) myself, I am well aware of this matter. It’s a shameless thing they cheat on what human eats. Lucky, the Customs, and, Quarantine in Korea, well know of this matter. They have strengthen Food Safety Test since 2014, and, it gets stricter now.
Importers who import this Injected Black Tiger Shrimp lost Import License, the entire containers was destroyed, and, heavy fine. Exporters refuse to refund amount sold, about USD 250,000 (RM1,000,000) and they were sued and under investigation by Vietnam Government.”
Watch the horrible video here:
Unfortunately, gelatin-injected prawns are not unheard of, in fact it’s pretty common in… you guessed it! CHINA!
Read more: Gelatin-injected Prawn Found in China Market
