Domoic Acid - Health warning crab from Bodega Bay

Maybe most of you know about this warning issued by the Ca. Department of Public Health, Nov. 1, 2018.  But I didn't until last night.  https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR18-054.aspx

CDPH is advising not to eat the viscera of Dungeness crab caught near Bodega Bay due to elevated levels of Domoic Acid.

Here are a list of symptoms from the report ....Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the victim may experience trouble breathing, confusion, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma or death.

Thanks for sharing Mike.

Ya, still gotta bust um and drop viscera and gills before boiling to be safe

Yeah, I was concerned until I realized I don't eat that stuff anyway.

Yeah, I was concerned until I realized I don't eat that stuff anyway.

Yeah, no doubt I don’t touch that stuff, either. Hepatopancrease ain’t my thing. I do remember my parents eating that stuff with sake and my partner gorges on that stuff with rice(guess my ethnicity  ). I guess the temporary memory loss is true...she hasn’t said anything about the continuous stream of Amazon boxes of fishing gear I get daily.

Thanks Mike,

Yes, I was aware of the warning and bummed about it. I used to be disgusted by the stuff until I read Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook many years ago. He called it crab butter and used it in many of his recipes. After that I would always make stock from it and the shells to use in gumbos and other seafood stews. Lately we would use it in Japanese style broths and stews but now just dump it out in the compost bin.   

When non toxic that stuff is the bomb!

Not the healthiest but extremely flavorful.

Tried it in one of my recipes once 

Topic: Crab Butter Sauce Spaghetti with Prawns & Hot link

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=77281.0

Would it be safe to boil the crabs whole and then extract just the meat for crabcakes?

As of December 3rd CDPH has lifted the Domoic acid warning for Bodega.  Hojo also posted this as well.

"While domoic acid levels may vary, consumers should always follow these best preparation practices to avoid any inadvertent exposure to domoic acid that might be found in the crab's viscera. When whole crab are cooked in liquid, domoic acid may leach from the viscera into the cooking liquid. Water or broth used to cook whole crab should be discarded and not used to prepare dishes such as sauces, broths, soups or stews (for example, cioppino or gumbo), stocks, roux, dressings or dips. Cooking crabs neither decreases nor destroys the toxin. The viscera usually contain higher levels of domoic acid than the meat, so consumers are advised to discard the viscera and cooking liquids."

I always split the crabs in half (chef knife and rubber mallet - splits them and kills them immediately), clean them out (remove carapace, gills, mouthparts, etc. and rinse out well), and steam or boil the cleaned halves.

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