Can Crabs Be Eaten Raw? Risks and Precautions of Eating Raw Crabs

Eat crab roe raw and shrimp alive, and eat grasshoppers half-cooked. Crabs can be eaten raw, and the famous drunken crab is in fact eaten raw. However, those with poor digestion are not advised to eat them raw.

Research has found that in live crabs, the infection rate and infection rate of lung roundworm larvae are both very high. Lung roundworm infects the lungs, irritating or destroying lung tissue, and can cause coughing and even coughing up blood; when it invades the brain, it can lead to paralysis.

According to surveys, when crabs are lightly heated, the infection rate of lung flukes is 20%; when crabs are salted and eaten, the infection rate of lung flukes is as high as 55%; when crabs are eaten raw, the infection rate is 71%. The metacercariae of lung flukes are highly resistant, and are usually killed at 55°C in water for 30 minutes, or by soaking in 20% salt water for 48 hours.

Eating crab meat raw can also lead to infection by Vibrio parahaemolyticus. When large numbers of Vibrio parahaemolyticus invade the human body, they produce infectious toxins, manifesting symptoms such as intestinal inflammation, edema and congestion.

How to eat raw crab

A famous Shanghai dish of raw crab and shrimp cured in yellow rice wine and soy sauce——drunken crab. Drunken crab, a cooking tradition popular in Jiangnan in which crab is prepared with alcohol, is also one of Shanghai's famous dishes. Its shell and flesh become as soft as fragrant jade, while its roe remains firm like purple clouds. The ancients described drunken crab as having flesh like fragrant jade and roe like purple clouds, and its supreme deliciousness cannot be fully described. The drunken crab of Fengshou Crab Manor follows a secret recipe handed down from ancient times. The ingredient is still Taihu hairy crab, female crabs of about 2 liang, ensuring each one is fresh and plump, then drunken in alcohol.