Shanghai blacklists some aquatic products

Shanghai residents will have to abstain from consuming a number of aquatic products that have been permanently blacklisted by the Shanghai municipal government on health grounds, Shanghai Morning Post reported on Thursday.

Among the banned items are two local favourties: the clam Scapharca subcrenata, and liquor-saturated shrimps.

The municipal government has been striving to enforce a ban on the clam since it was linked to a major outbreak of hepatitis A in 1988 that affected more than 300,000 people. Restaurants have been issued with a year-round ban on serving river shrimps, which are saturated in wine before being eaten alive, according to Shanghai Food Safety Commission Office.

Crabs and shrimps that are preserved in wine and then eaten raw have been banned from May through to October each year.