Pax Arcana
Late yesterday we received a warning that is bound to make Father Scott’s beard fall right the fuck off — the Food and Drug Administration says eating Maine lobsters can kill you.
OK that’s not exactly the story. The story is that state and local officials in Massachusetts and New Hampshire have discovered high levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) in tomalley from American (aka Maine) lobsters.
Oh yeah, tomalley is that green shit inside the lobster. Don’t eat that green shit:
The FDA advisory applies only to tomalley, the soft, green substance found in the body cavity of the lobster that functions as the liver and pancreas. Cooking does not eliminate the PSP toxins. However, studies have shown that, even when high levels of PSP toxins are present in lobster tomalley, lobster meat itself is typically unaffected.
My globally-renowned scientific acumen tells me that if the toxins are so weak that they can affect one part of the lobster’s body while sparing the others, they present little danger to humans. Let’s take a closer look at what PSP does to you:
Symptoms of PSP include tingling and/or numbness of the mouth, face or neck; muscle weakness; headache; and nausea. In extreme cases, when large amounts of the toxin are consumed, these symptoms can lead to respiratory failure and death. Symptoms usually occur within two hours of exposure to the toxin. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention.
[Gulp]
OK, really — don’t eat that green shit!
FDA Advises Against Consumption of American Lobster (Maine Lobster) Tomalley [FDA.gov]
9 Comments
July 30, 2008 at 10:01 am
Everyone in Maine has always known that it’s not a good idea to eat tomalley. We just didn’t bother to tell the rest of you.
July 30, 2008 at 10:37 am
So I guess that means the beard stays?
July 30, 2008 at 10:52 am
Oh that was never in question.
July 30, 2008 at 1:10 pm
that fact contributed a point to today’s Weekly Dig’s -8 quality of life index.
toxic: what it means to be from maine.
July 30, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Doesn’t it taste gross anyway? Like, REALLY gross?
July 30, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Some people swear by it. I’ve never tried it, though I am a head-sucker when it comes to crawfish, so I might find myself in the pro-tomalley camp.
July 30, 2008 at 3:34 pm
I don’t think tomalley’s anything special. I think people eat it thinking that it’s an obscure thing to eat, so it makes them more interesting or something.
July 30, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Doubt it, Pax. I’m a headsucker too, but tomalley is just f*chin’ nasty, like fishy-tasting sewer sludge.
July 30, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Mmmmmmm, sludge. The French say it’s delicious.