Is it safe to eat a shrimp shell?

Answer 1

No, you should never do this. It's very dangerous. I am an emergency room nurse, and recently treated a patient rushed in to the hospital in an unconscious state. It turned out that there was internal hemmoraging caused by the jagged part of an undigested shrimp tail. While the consistentcy of a shrimp tail may seem to be like that of a human fingernail, the latter is broken down by stomach enzymes, while the shrimp tail is immune to the enzymes. Further, long term consumption of the inedible parts of shellfish have been known to cause irreparable damage to the GI tract. Suprisingly, the New England Journal of Medicine has recently published a study finding that the effects of shrimp tails stated above are exacerbated with the introduction of acids found in the skins of citrus fruits, such as Oranges or kiwis. (While a small percentage of the American population partakes in the consumption of the skins of such fruits, it has been found that there is a large overlap with those who eat the tails of shrimp.) Hope that was helpful.

Answer 2

Yes it is safe to eat shrimp tail meat. As long as you don't eat the exoskeleton! :)

Answer 3

Sometimes it should say on the pack.

Answer 4

No, because you can choke on the shell of the shrimp. You do get a lot of the flavor, actually you get all of the flavor. But it's still no good for you.