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Started By
Message
Fresh Seafood Sellers are Cheats!
Posted on 3/12/17 at 12:00 pm
Posted on 3/12/17 at 12:00 pm
When buying fresh seafood by the pound don't you wonder if you're really getting what you pay for? I went to the Westwego Seafood Lot yesterday and picked up 15 lbs of fresh shrimp and when I got home I weighed it two ways.... in the packaging of plastic bag, wrapped in newspaper and in plastic bags again. My kitchen scale which is digital shows I got 4 lbs 15 oz. and 10 lbs 1 oz packaged and 9 lbs 3 oz. and 4 lbs 6 oz. which comes to 13 lbs 9 oz of shrimp when I paid for 15 pounds. Something similar happened when I bought 4 lbs from a local seafood store and got 3 lbs 1 oz. of actual shrimp.
I know shrimpers feel they are getting screwed with seafood imports and lower prices for their fresh shrimp but screwing the customer like this is not good when they can pass the word on to potential customers. Annnd... on top of that the woman tells me she gave me an "extra pound over what I paid for"!
I watched their scale and it did say I got over 16 pounds but I know scales can be screwed with too.
So just a word of caution when buying fresh seafood by the pound that you're most likely getting screwed by sellors. If you find an honest seafood purveyor stick with them!
I know shrimpers feel they are getting screwed with seafood imports and lower prices for their fresh shrimp but screwing the customer like this is not good when they can pass the word on to potential customers. Annnd... on top of that the woman tells me she gave me an "extra pound over what I paid for"!
I watched their scale and it did say I got over 16 pounds but I know scales can be screwed with too.
So just a word of caution when buying fresh seafood by the pound that you're most likely getting screwed by sellors. If you find an honest seafood purveyor stick with them!
This post was edited on 3/12/17 at 5:00 pm
7
Posted on 3/12/17 at 12:04 pm to Cajunate
They probably weighed your shrimp with some of the ice they were sitting in. You gotta make sure they pick out the ice.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 12:07 pm to Cajunate
I've never purchased from Sellors.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 1:43 pm to Cajunate
Make sure they pick out the ice. If it's a scale issue, they can be temporarily shut down by the department of agriculture weights and measures. If you feel they were in violation, report them. It is highly illegal to frick with scales.
This post was edited on 3/12/17 at 1:44 pm
Posted on 3/12/17 at 2:32 pm to Cajunate
15 lbs of shrimp wet dripping water will only be about 14 lbs when all the water drains off.
plus ice gets mixed in at times to skew things
every where I buy shrimp they go "over" to compensate for this. I buy 10 lbs the scale reads right at 10 3/4 -11 lbs before they bag it.
if you aren't being treated fairly go somewhere else and always watch what the scale is reading when empty before you ask for anything, it should be just under zero or you aren't getting fair weight.
another tip is to smell the shrimp and/or water, if you catch even the slightest hint of bleach then the shrimp is old. its a well known trick to keep old shrimp "looking" pretty buy adding some bleach to the water. another tip is if some of the heads are starting to fall or lift off of the shrimp body they are not fresh
plus ice gets mixed in at times to skew things
every where I buy shrimp they go "over" to compensate for this. I buy 10 lbs the scale reads right at 10 3/4 -11 lbs before they bag it.
if you aren't being treated fairly go somewhere else and always watch what the scale is reading when empty before you ask for anything, it should be just under zero or you aren't getting fair weight.
another tip is to smell the shrimp and/or water, if you catch even the slightest hint of bleach then the shrimp is old. its a well known trick to keep old shrimp "looking" pretty buy adding some bleach to the water. another tip is if some of the heads are starting to fall or lift off of the shrimp body they are not fresh
Posted on 3/12/17 at 3:18 pm to Cajunate
Funny you should mention this. Friday I bought 3.1 lbs of large gulf shrimp at Cpt.Averys, our local fresh seafood outlet. Cpt. Avery's has fairly recently changed from a guy that ran it well for many years to his son and some new faces. I have heard some complaints about a drop in quality, but haven't really noticed any myself. So anyway, I bought my shrimp, got home and took them out. This isn't 3lbs of shrimp I say. These bastards shorted me. Cpt. Averys HAS gone to shite I say. This can't be more that 2lbs, Im gonna call and raise hell. So I weigh them to find out exactly how bad they shorted me. 3.1 lbs is what it read on my digital scale.
This post was edited on 3/12/17 at 3:20 pm
Posted on 3/12/17 at 3:23 pm to keakar
I mentioned this in another thread a few days ago: Be careful when you choose what size shrimp you want on that seafood lot.
I have had vendors put larger shrimp on top of a chest full of smaller shrimp. You wind up paying more for smaller shrimp than what you wanted. And of course, they have a sign directing you not to touch the shrimp in the ice chests.
I have had vendors put larger shrimp on top of a chest full of smaller shrimp. You wind up paying more for smaller shrimp than what you wanted. And of course, they have a sign directing you not to touch the shrimp in the ice chests.
This post was edited on 3/12/17 at 3:25 pm
Posted on 3/12/17 at 4:02 pm to Stadium Rat
Lot of wary posters in this thread. Y'all need to have trust in and compassion for your fellow man.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 4:18 pm to TH03
quote:
It is highly illegal to frick with scales.
Tell me about it. My grandpa is still in prison.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 4:45 pm to Cajunate
Which vendor did you go to? If they cheated you put them on blast here. You know the power of tigerdroppings.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 5:09 pm to Twenty 49
quote:
Tell me about it. My grandpa is still in prison.
And I get all the downvotes.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 8:38 pm to Martini
Martini......shoot me an email please
fishingfloridaradio@gmail.com
fishingfloridaradio@gmail.com
Posted on 3/12/17 at 10:15 pm to LSUballs
Saw them unpacking frozen fish from a box that had "Product of Indonesia" stamped on it last time I was in there.
Not good. And no reason for it.
Not good. And no reason for it.
Posted on 3/12/17 at 10:58 pm to craynagin
you serious Clark?
that is my go to seafood store.....not feeling so good about the quality there now.
that is my go to seafood store.....not feeling so good about the quality there now.
Posted on 3/13/17 at 12:50 am to craynagin
quote:
Saw them unpacking frozen fish from a box that had "Product of Indonesia" stamped on it last time I was in there.
Don't doubt it, I avoid that place like the plague. Used to have some good stuff, but not anymore. I buy off the boat/dock, or don't buy. Even in those situations you need to be wary, I can smell, or even look at a shrimp to tell of it's freshness. Another thing to watch for is heads starting to turn pinkish.
Posted on 3/13/17 at 1:20 am to craynagin
I bought some flash frozen grouper from a place called LA Gulf Seafood. Got it home and saw the Indonesia label. Sure it was fine, but I was not happy.
Posted on 3/13/17 at 6:13 am to Cajunate
That's why I buy directly from the fisherman. Most of the people on the seafood lot aren't fisherman, they just the middle man.
Between me and my friends and family I buy about 1,200-1,500 pounds of shrimp a year from the same guy over the last 10 years or so. In that time me nor any of the people I got shrimp foe ever felt slighted.
Find you a fisherman to buy from. With facebook groups and whatnot, they are pretty easy to find.
Between me and my friends and family I buy about 1,200-1,500 pounds of shrimp a year from the same guy over the last 10 years or so. In that time me nor any of the people I got shrimp foe ever felt slighted.
Find you a fisherman to buy from. With facebook groups and whatnot, they are pretty easy to find.
Posted on 3/13/17 at 6:57 am to eyepooted
yeah, they picked out the ice and there was only a couple of ounces of liquid in the bag when I unwrapped them(no, none was absorbed by the newspaper either. So that wasn't the issue. I think the scales aren't right.
Another thing with another place..... I suspect they repackage swai and sell it as local farm raised catfish.
As far as filing a complaint or to report where do you do so?
Another thing with another place..... I suspect they repackage swai and sell it as local farm raised catfish.
As far as filing a complaint or to report where do you do so?
This post was edited on 3/13/17 at 8:04 am
Posted on 3/13/17 at 8:18 am to craynagin
quote:
Saw them unpacking frozen fish from a box that had "Product of Indonesia" stamped on it last time I was in there.
You are specifically referring to Capt. Averys, over in Monroe, with this post?
Posted on 3/13/17 at 8:50 am to Ole Geauxt
There are a lot of factors that go into weighing fresh shrimp.
First off is the scale. You have to have a legal for trade scale before you can sell anything by the weight. A home scale is not a legal for trade scale. Legal for trade scales are more expensive than your home scales. I want to say even the ones they have at the shrimp lot cost over $150-$200. You also have to have them certified by LA dept of Agriculture - weights and measures division. They come out and test the scale with their own weights to certify that it is accurate. I'm sure most of them in the Westwego shrimp lot have had this done. They are an easy target to get written up since they have so many of them in one spot.
2nd factor is water weight. Shrimp live in water and thus hold a lot of water weight. Shrimp docks or shrimp processors will take out 5-10% for water weight when they buy from shrimpers. Shrimp are dumped in a water tank to ensure they are clean and melt any ice before they go on a conveyor belt and on to the scale. This is an understood thing in the business and this is why a lot of seafood retailers will give you a little extra weight when they sell you shrimp (if they are sitting in water that is).
3rd factor is there are standards for weighing shrimp. Because they retain a lot of water, that water will leak out if sitting out of water in a colander or in a bag of newspaper. I think the standard was only only like 1.5-3 minutes drain time. It's been a while since I read it. So you can't let shrimp sit in a colander for 5-10 minutes and expect it to weight the same as it did when you took it out of the water.
First off is the scale. You have to have a legal for trade scale before you can sell anything by the weight. A home scale is not a legal for trade scale. Legal for trade scales are more expensive than your home scales. I want to say even the ones they have at the shrimp lot cost over $150-$200. You also have to have them certified by LA dept of Agriculture - weights and measures division. They come out and test the scale with their own weights to certify that it is accurate. I'm sure most of them in the Westwego shrimp lot have had this done. They are an easy target to get written up since they have so many of them in one spot.
2nd factor is water weight. Shrimp live in water and thus hold a lot of water weight. Shrimp docks or shrimp processors will take out 5-10% for water weight when they buy from shrimpers. Shrimp are dumped in a water tank to ensure they are clean and melt any ice before they go on a conveyor belt and on to the scale. This is an understood thing in the business and this is why a lot of seafood retailers will give you a little extra weight when they sell you shrimp (if they are sitting in water that is).
3rd factor is there are standards for weighing shrimp. Because they retain a lot of water, that water will leak out if sitting out of water in a colander or in a bag of newspaper. I think the standard was only only like 1.5-3 minutes drain time. It's been a while since I read it. So you can't let shrimp sit in a colander for 5-10 minutes and expect it to weight the same as it did when you took it out of the water.
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