Consumer_Reports_Eat_Healthy_and_Love_it_July_2017 (1)

Smart & Safe Shopping
wild, according to Amanda Keledjian,
a marine scientist at the nonprofit
conservation group Oceana. “Nets
dragged along the ocean floor can
severely damage the sea bottom and
anything that lives there,” she says.
Estimates vary, but at least 1 to 3
pounds of other species—including
endangered sea turtles—can be killed
for every pound of shrimp caught
in the wild. To minimize the impact,
a U.S. federal law requires shrimpers—
with some exceptions—to outfit
their nets with devices that allow
other sea life to escape.
Still, when it comes to safety and
sustainability, responsibly caught
U.S. wild shrimp is our top choice.
CR recommends buying wild shrimp
certified by the Marine Stewardship
Council, an organization that ensures
that shrimpers are fishing responsibly;
shrimp from Whole Foods Market;
and those listed as “Best Choices” or
“Good Alternatives” on Monterey Bay
Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Guide,
at seafoodwatch.org.
What About Taste?
Shrimp connoisseurs, from celebrity
chefs to seasoned shrimpers, claim
to be able to detect a striking difference
between wild and farmed shrimp,
and there’s some science to support
their claims. The CSIRO Division of
Food Science and Technology in Sydney
analyzed wild and farmed shrimp
to find out why they can taste different.
Sure enough, wild shrimp had far
higher levels of compounds called
bromophenols, which the researchers
equated with a “briny, oceanlike” flavor.
But don’t assume that briny means
better. To conduct a small tasting,
CR purchased 24 packages of seven types
of frozen shrimp from Whole Foods
Markets near our headquarters in
Yonkers, N.Y.. They included Atlantic
white, Key West pink, and Gulf white
shrimp, all caught in the U.S., as well
as farmed shrimp from Ecuador,
Thailand, and Vietnam.
Overall, our tasters found very little
The Lowdown on Shrimp Labels
TRUST
Marine Stewardship
Council indicates that
wild shrimp are caught
using sustainable fishing
practices. This can
include outfitting nets
with devices that allow
other animals to escape
if accidentally caught.
Aquaculture
Stewardship Council
indicates shrimp are
raised without antibiotics
and according to
guidelines that protect
the environment. This
label also ensures that
shrimp farms don’t use
forced labor. But the
guidelines permit the
use of certain chemicals,
including some pesticides,
and don’t limit the
number of shrimp in
a farming pond.
Naturland indicates
that shrimp are farmed
following guidelines that
prohibit the overstocking
of ponds and the use
of chemicals, including
antibiotics, pesticides, and
disinfectants. Shrimp are
fed sustainably caught
fish meal, and farms don’t
use forced labor.
Whole Foods Market
Responsibly Farmed
indicates that shrimp are
raised in conditions that
protect the environment,
without antibiotics and
with limited use of
chemicals. There’s no limit
on the density of shrimp in
ponds. They’re found only
at Whole Foods Market.
DON’T TRUST
Turtle Safe This
claim is not backed
by a consistent
set of standards.
Natural This term
has no official definition
for shrimp. Ignore it.
Organic There is no
approved standard
for organic seafood in
the U.S.
Sustainable There is
no regulated definition of
sustainable. Any seller
can make this claim.
Environmentally
Aware An easy claim to
make, but it’s not backed
by a consistent set of
standards to ensure that
shrimp were sustainably
caught or farmed.
No Hormones There
is no government or
official definition for this
term on shrimp.
No Antibiotics On meat
and poultry, this term
means what it says. But
when it comes to shrimp,
the term isn’t defined
by the FDA.
PHOTOS, FROM LEFT: JAMES ELLERKER/GALLERY STOCK; GETTY IMAGES
134 EAT HEALTHY CR.ORG