Shellfish Dangers

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Plants are not the only dangerous kind of food. A visit to the local fish-market also provides all kinds of possible hazards. It´s not that seafood isn´t tasty and nutritious. The problem is that we consumers sometimes assume a degree of safety that isn´t always there.

Shellfish

There is a masculine mystique about the libido-enhancing effects of raw seafood. It is probably no truer than the 18th Century beliefs in performance enhancement effects of potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, artichokes, sea holly, chocolate, carrots, broad beans and candied orchid roots. Shellfish may or may not improve your sex life, but there´s no doubt they provide plenty of opportunities for becoming ill. One expert estimated that although only 0.1 % of all shellfish consumed is eaten raw, that tiny percentage is responsible for a large proportion of reported food-caused illnesses.

Poisoning from shellfish falls into two categories. In the first, there is bacterial or viral contamination with human disease organisms. Adequate cooking eliminates this danger. The second type arises from heat-stable toxins derived from the food that the shellfish have been eating. These toxins are not completely destroyed by cooking.

Diarrhoea is very dangerous to children

Many diseases cause uncontrolled diarrhoea. This is more than extremely unpleasant and embarrassing; it can be fatal, especially to children, who are less able to tolerate the accompanying water loss. A life-saving therapy is to administer commercial sports drinks or simple salt-glucose solutions. Straight water will not be absorbed from the stomach unless both sugar and salt are mixed in. Rehydration therapy concentrates are available from most chemists.

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