Frozen prawns

[genthon]

Want to use a pkt of frozen prawns which are two weeks past the Best Before date.  thought that would be no problem but am concerned that the bag appears to be "blown"i.e. quite solid feeling.  Does this mean unsafe to use?

[woofgang]

do you mean inflated like a balloon? if so DO NOT  use. If you mean that the prawns are just frozen together in a lump then you might open the bag and sniff, if still okay, defrost one see what it tastes and smells like and make a decision. If it does smell and taste okay, IMHO though I might eat them myself, I wouldn't give to unsuspecting others especially those in the foods at risk group (children, older people, unwell or immune system compromised)

[genthon]

Thanks a lot Wolfgang for confirming my suspicions.  Had decided if no one replied I would err on the safe side and throw them away as the bag is inflated like a balloon. 

[woofgang]

second thought....do you know anyone who you really really dislike??

(only joking, don't try this at home kiddies)

[Quizmonster]

I've always taken the view that whenever you suspect - even slightly and perhaps unjustifiably - that a foodstuff might be 'dubious'...bin it. So, you may have lost a couple of quid if there was really nothing wrong with it, but you have certainly ensured that you suffer no ill effects from eating it.

[kerrymill]

I am extremely paranoid about out of date food,but never ever eat prawns you are unsure of. My husband was so ill from eating dodgy prawns he looked dead!

[Piper-AK]

I'm sorry for posting so late, but I just have to know what it means if, as per woofgang's post, the bag of prawns is inflated like a balloon and why that's so terrible.  Have the contents rotted and released gases or something?

[woofgang]

got it in one piper

[Dom Tuk]

If anyone looks almost dead after eating prawns, then it is a very serious issue. It may not necessarily mean that the prawns were off, it is more than likely that your husband is allergic to Prawns. A large proportion of the population is allergic to prawns and other shell fish and are not aware of it.

[Ammy]

To answer your question Piper-AK, if the bag has inflated then yes, something has released gases. When bacteria gets a chance to multiply they produce various gases which in turn would cause a bag to expand. This actually happened to a tin of baked beans I found in the back of the cupboard from the early 80s! Always throw the food away if this happens, especially when dealing with meat/fish/dairy products. The gas is an indicator of the presence of bacteria.

So basically anytime you find a sealed bag/packet of food that has expanded then it means it has gone bad.

[jno]

woofgang, didn't I see you at the Borgias' the other night?

[woofgang]

naaah, they're such amateurs

[jno]

The Borgias are having an orgy;
There�s a Borgia orgy tonight,
And isn�t it sickening
We�ve run out of Strychnine;
The gravy will have to have ground glass for thickening.

The poison Chianti is terribly scanty
But everything else is all right.
There�s ars�nic mixed in the mock turtle soup.
I�ve hidden an asp in the iced cantaloupe,
And straight Benzedrine in the apricot coupe
At the Borgia orgy tonight.

Our guests are exclusively chosen
From people who give us a pain.
The cr�me of the joke is the knowledge
That they won�t come here again.

We�ll all be most frightfully hearty
At the Borgia orgy tonight.
For the Duke�s eldest son
There�s a monstrous cream bun
Soaked in hot prussic acid;
It�s all good clean fun.

The tank in the ladies will blow them to Hades
If anyone turns on the light.
The bodies will fall through a trap door below
To the Tiber and drift out to sea on the flow.
We think we can promise a jolly good show
At the Borgia orgy tonight.

(continued...)

[jno]

(continuing...)

We revel in giving a party,
A fete or a fancy dress ball.
There�s always a nice game of bingo
And a good time had by all.

The Borgias are giving an orgy;
There�s a Borgia orgy tonight.
I�ve poison ptomaine that will wrack them with pain.
We�ve nothing to lose and a whole lot to gain.

We�re pushing some people
We know off a steeple;
It should be a wonderful sight.
We�ve bricked up some cousins of ours in a wall;
Their agonized cries won�t disturb us at all
As we sit here sipping our wormwood and gall�
(It�s delicious!)
At the Borgia Orgy tonight.

We�ve got all the nobles of Naples
For the Borgia orgy tonight.
The soup minestrone is frightfully phony,
And laudanum reeks in the stewed macaroni.
We�re feeling no pain when they eat the henbane
In the third tangerine from the right.

When the butler flings open the dining room door
There�s a cunning contraption concealed in the floor;
We wonder who�ll sit on the circular saw
At the Borgia orgy tonight.

Sung by Hermione Gingold (sorry genthon - hijacking your thread a bit here)

[genthon]

Thank you all for such useful info and entertaining chat!  Don't worry jno about hijacking my thread I am happy to be a prawn in your game... uurgh!!

[woofgang]

stars to genthon for generating such a good thread!!

*****

[Squyre]

Applauds jno. Very entertaining. And all others who basically confirmed my suspicions about my bag of frozen prawns, thus enabling me to avoid cooking tonight and I get away with ordering a takeaway/delivery.