Posted by Eric S on June 12, 2005 at 20:47:31:
In Reply to: Scollops and red tide, ok to eat them ? posted by JK on June 12, 2005 at 19:50:22:
I used to wonder the same thing. Recently I heard an urban legend story about a guy who ate a raw scallop on the spot that he got up on the Sonoma coast and as he began to feel sicker and sicker his buddies drove him like maniacs to get him to a hospital. When they reached Jenner he was dead.
I mentioned this story to a friend and he said it was all "poppycock".
According to my source, toxic algae blooms that affect shellfish can only really affect humans if the WHOLE soft tissue of the shellfish is eaten such as with clams, oysters, or mussels. With scallops only the muscle tissue is eaten and all the rest is discarded so all the toxins are metabolized and or removed by the scallops digestion and is not absorbed by the meat.