Shellfish in the Philippines

[palu]

Just finished my second week of retirement living in the Philippines and already have food cravings. My big one is shellfish. Is it something to be avoided? I am well aware that the waters around the Philippines are used as dumping grounds. Thoughts?

[Dave Hounddriver]

16 minutes ago, palu said:

My big one is shellfish.

If you refer to Prawns or shrimp then the largest selection comes from fish farms and its anybody's guess what the conditions are.  I have even seen fish farms for crabs.  It's rare to get ocean caught shellfish near the larger urban centers.  And yet, I haven't got sick (touch wood) from the shellfish here.

[Mike J]

10 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

And yet, I haven't got sick (touch wood) from the shellfish here

Like Dave, I have also never gotten sick from the shellfish.  That being said, we always cook them, never raw.

[JDDavao II]

Shellfish here scares me. I can never be sure how old or how safe they are or how well they've been cared for on their journey and storage. That said, dead shellfish don't open. I've had tahong (Perna viridis) several times in the local tinolang tahong and I ain't dead yet.

[Gator]

10 hours ago, Mike J said:

Like Dave, I have also never gotten sick from the shellfish.  That being said, we always cook them, never raw.

Same here. 

Although I do love clams and oysters on the half shell, I pretty much limit my shellfish intake in the Phils to cooked shrimp / prawns 🦐 and crab 🦀. 

[gaga4]

Bottom line - you have to develop an immunity to the bacteria there. I love pretty much all seafood. But whenever I visit, I avoid eating anything close to raw. Sometimes even when its well cooked. I had issues once and once is enough!

[Old55]

On 7/27/2018 at 2:30 AM, Gator said:

Same here. 

Although I do love clams and oysters on the half shell, I pretty much limit my shellfish intake in the Phils to cooked shrimp / prawns 🦐 and crab 🦀. 

Exactly Gator. I love clams and oysters but am not about to trust their handling over there.

Shrimp and crab alive from wet market they would be safe to eat? 

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 hours ago, Old55 said:

Shrimp and crab alive from wet market they would be safe to eat? 

I haven't seen them alive in the wet market.  They are always dead or nearly dead.  Shrimp almost always comes from shrimp farms now.  Rare to see any in the wild.  Crabs in the market are usually too small for western cultures to eat.  Western governments have laws to toss them back until they reach a certain size.  The big ones are ALL contracted to restaurants.  The restaurants keep their own aquariums for them and sell them live to the customers.  That is the best place to eat crab in the Philippines.

[gaga4]

If you like to live on the edge then go for it!!

[GeoffH]

I used to eat oysters (cooked) sometimes in the Philippines, only once did I get sick... but I used the CR a LOT for the next couple of days.

SWMBO tried very hard to convince me not to eat them again... I haven't ordered a plate of them since hehe but I still eat various sea food.

I should try some again, it's been a while and I can play the "It's been a while, maybe it was just a bad batch" card soon I think :)

Edited June 17, 2019 by GeoffH