Shellfish

Second largest category of seafood Shells instead of bones Two main groups of shellfish Crustaceans Mollusks

Crustaceans Exterior-jointed skeletons that are shed throughout the year Shrimp, Lobster, Crab, Crawfish

Lobsters Lobsters do not spoil when alive, however, when they die the spoil extremely fast Live lobsters will curl their tail, arch their back and move when picked up

Mollusks Invertebrates with soft bodies covered with a shells 3 types Bivalves- clams, scallops, oysters Univalves- conch, snails Cephalopods- octopus, squid, cuttlefish

Bivalves Prone to contamination Feed by pumping water through their bodies and filtering out plankton Bacteria and toxins are also filtered out of the water

Bivalves Clams and mussels contain sand naturally To remove sand, purge in salted water for a few minutes Bivalves need to be closed or close when tapped

PSP One common problem is called Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Naturally occurring algae bloom called red tide

Other problems Hepatitis can also occur from raw sewage in the water There is strict monitoring of shellfish beds by the FDA which is why tags must be on each bag of shellfish These tags must be kept by the end buyer for 90 days

Crustaceans Shrimp Fresh Frozen Fresh Cooked Dried Canned

Shrimp Frozen shrimp are classified by number of shrimp per pound U-12 U Puds- peeled and deveined (Small)

Shrimp Most frozen shrimp come in 5 lb blocks Some are packaged in 2 kg which is lighter Headless- head removed Green- raw shrimp in the shell Peeled- no head, no shell Deveined- shell and intestinal track removed

Crabs Most common- Blue Crab Hard and soft shell- same crab Soft shell- crab that has molted Cleaned Crabmeat- steamed crab and meat removed

Crabmeat Fresh, Frozen, Pasteurized and Canned Jumbo lump Regular, Lump Back fin Special Claw

Mollusks Scallops Sea scallop most common, adductor muscle is removed from the shell and sold fresh or frozen Tough fibrous muscle called the chain is found on the side of scallops Should be removed before service

Scallops Bay scallops Smaller, shorter supply, higher price Scallops only take 2-3 minutes to cook

Hard shell Clams Live hardshell clams are sold by the bushel weighing 65 lbs Quahogs100 Cherrystones200 Topnecks300 Littlenecks400

Clams Clams are sold live, chopped (minced) Fresh, frozen, canned

Oysters Sold by bushel 60 lbs 240 oysters Sold by count Boxes with approx 100

Squid Most commonly known as Calamari Sold fresh and frozen Sold in frozen 2.5 lb blocks T & T Rings