Green/banana Prawns

[hottyscotty]

1st Question: Are banana prawns and green prawns the same?

2nd Question: Do banana/green prawns lose their blue tinge on the tail if its not fresh?

I've noticed some fishmongers selling prawns as banana/green prawns but without the blue tail. Am i being fooled or just not fresh?

[Hodgey]

G'Day Scotty,

I will be interested in other responses to your question too. I was under the impression the term 'green' described the fact that they were uncooked, as opposed to a description of their color.

Cheers

Hodgey

[The Iceman]

Green prawns are usually school prawns which have a blue tinge to the tail but banana prawns are larger more yellow in colour and have a red tinge to the tail both in there uncooked state

[Penguin]

G'Day Scotty,

I will be interested in other responses to your question too. I was under the impression the term 'green' described the fact that they were uncooked, as opposed to a description of their color.

Cheers

Hodgey

I was under the same impression, I buy Green Endeaver prawns and there is no

green colouring to them at all, and all the other uncooked prawns in the shop

are labeled green as well.

penguin

[Davemmm]

I went out for dinner one night and i think it was the prawns that made me turn green the next day

Dave

[anthony f]

From working on a prawn farm I can tell you all un-cooked prawns are called green and if not treated with a chemical will very soon turn black. Still alright to eat they just don,t look so flash. Don,t ask me what the chemical is as I cannot remember off hand but I assure you the ones you get from any food store that are green have been treated, except those that are in a ice slurry and under water( usually peeled tails)

[hottyscotty]

thanks for the replies

so i gather that green means uncooked for any species of prawns

then i'm pretty sure banana prawns have a blue tail.

i think i've been fooled

[Dreamtime]

School, king, banana and tiger are species of prawns. I would imagine that there would be plenty more species to add to this list.

Green definately depicts uncooked.

[double pluggers]

All bannana prawns i have brought over the years do not have the blue tail. The blue tails are usually more expensive than the bannanas that you can normally get from between $9 & $18, depending on season. The blue tails are usually $20+. As already stated green just means uncooked.

[Dreamtime]

You are correct! The Blue Prawn is actually a separate species of prawn.

Below is a photo and it's scientific name.

Litopenaeus stylirostris, Blue Prawn|Prawn, Pacific Blue Prawn

Other members of the Penaeidae Family are:

BANANA PRAWN

BAY PRAWN

Black Tiger Prawn

Blue Prawn

ENDEAVOUR PRAWN

KING PRAWN

Redspot King Prawn

SCHOOL PRAWN

TIGER PRAWN

Vannamei Prawn

There is also a frshwater species of the same name.

A freshwater prawn that's now being aquacultured in Hawaii. It's name comes from the brilliant blue color of its tail. The moderately fat flesh of the Hawaiian blue prawn is sweet and succulent. This crustacean can be prepared in any manner suitable for shrimp.

To re-iterate the meaning of a "green" prawn:-

Imported green (uncooked prawns) tested

Newsletter

________________________________________

By Ross Lobegeiger

DPI&F conducted independent testing on imported (green) uncooked prawns in the October to December period in 2006. The results of these test supports the response the DPI&F is roviding to Biosecurity Australia in relation to the proposed Prawn and Prawn Products Import Risk Assessment (IRA) process.

DPI&F has reviewed the draft IRA and is mostly satisfied with the proposed interim measures to test uncooked imported prawns for WSSV, YHV and IHHNV. The draft IRA does not include testing for TSV and DPI&F's submission will include a call to include this disease in the screening. The screening of imports will lower the risk of exotic prawn diseases entering the country and placing the prawn industry in jeopardy.

More details on the IRA proposal see the story in this newsletter Prawn risk assessment.

The risks

Imported green (uncooked) prawns can carry exotic viruses such as White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV), Taura Syndrome Virus (TSV) or Yellowhead Virus (YHV). There is concern over the potential risk for aquatic animal diseases to be introduced through the importation of these green prawns.

Low prawn prices have resulted in increased prawn imports (up 120% since 2000-01) which also saw increases in the volume of green prawn imports. Due to these low prices green (uncooked) prawns can now be purchased at supermarkets for a cheaper price than bait. People should not use these prawns as bait due to the high risk of spreading the exotic diseases to wild prawns and farmed prawns.

The samples

Recently 16 batches of uncooked imported prawns were purchased from supermarkets in Cairns, Townsville, Mackay, Rockhampton and Brisbane and tested for the two diseases using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.

Green prawn products sampled included loose peeled tails, bagged cutlets and tails, skewered tails and cutlets in plastic boats. Samples originated from most South-East Asian countries. They included China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The results

Five prawns from each batch were tested and 14 batches tested positive for WSSV and 10 batches tested positive for TSV. No batches were free of viral contamination.

You guys may reconsider a nice meal of beer and prawns after reading this article.

Edited September 15, 2008 by Mariner 31