People enjoy the 'button-sized, brightly colored' snail dish without knowing the terrifying truth behind it.

Vietnam is famous for its delicious and beautiful seafood. Recently, there is a type of snail as small as a button that has been shared by many people because of its excitement: the shrimp snail.

People enjoy snails not only because of their surprisingly delicious taste but also because of their beautiful colors. Moreover, the popularity of this type of snail also comes from the "difficulty" of eating. Because they are so small and difficult to hold, the process of eating snails becomes more interesting and challenging.

Super small snail intestines.

Recently, social media has been buzzing with a clip of four young men competing to see who can pick out the most snails. So all four strong men sat next to the "snail mountain" and painstakingly and patiently picked out the intestines of each tiny snail.

Four strong men sat patiently picking snails.

Although the snails are few in number, partly because of their unique taste, partly because of their sweet and fragrant taste of the sea, and partly because of their strange appearance, they are getting more and more attention. However, few people know that: This is a type of snail that the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has warned that it can cause poisoning.

Many cases of poisoning and diarrhea due to eating snails

In 2008, Thang Binh District General Hospital in Quang Nam recorded hundreds of people poisoned by eating snails. On peak days, the hospital received up to 47 cases of poisoning from eating snails, not to mention many cases of self-treatment at home or going to the commune health station for IV fluids.

In early 2014, in Phu Ninh district, Quang Nam province, 14 cases of food poisoning were recorded due to eating jellyfish and sea snails. Most of the poisoned patients were hospitalized in a state of severe exhaustion, dehydration, severe vomiting, frequent bowel movements leading to dizziness and fever.

Boiled snails are recently a dish sold quite a lot on the market.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh (Institute of Biotechnology and Food, Hanoi University of Science and Technology): The shrimp snail, also known as the carp snail , is a type of snail that often lives in estuaries, is small in size, and has bright colors.

"This is a type of snail that is not used in food. This type of snail usually lives at the bottom of the mud, so it contains a lot of impurities . If they live in polluted water areas, the possibility of containing toxins will increase. Moreover, symbiotic microorganisms on the snail shell can also be the cause of poisoning . In addition, the size of the snail is too small, so it is very difficult to clean the mud and sand in it . It is best not to use it ," said Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh.

To ensure public health, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) has recommended that people should not use sea snails as food for children to prevent diarrhea in children. Before eating sea snails, soak them in clean water several times and remove all impurities.

How to eat snails to ensure health safety?

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh recommends choosing familiar snails with large appearances to easily remove impurities inside them . For example: fragrant snails, fat snails, jackfruit snails. Do not arbitrarily consume snails with strange appearances because they can cause poisoning. In addition, experts warn people to avoid consuming frozen snails. Because when snails are frozen but the storage conditions are not guaranteed, they will lose nutrients, and even the composition of substances can be changed, causing harm to the body if eaten.

To eat snails safely, everyone needs to remember : After buying snails, soak them in rice water, vinegar water, salt water mixed with lemon or chili to remove all dirt and avoid poisoning. Then boil them thoroughly before eating. If you eat snails that have not been boiled thoroughly, you are susceptible to parasites and have a high risk of digestive diseases, stomachaches, nausea.