For as much as I joked that shrimp were merely sea roaches in college, nature threw it in my face this morning when I found out that cicadas are actually related to seafood, specifically shrimp. At least according to the FDA, which issued this warning via Twitter about the dangers of eating cicadas when you have a shellfish allergy.
Yep! We have to say it!
Don't eat #cicadas if you're allergic to seafood as these insects share a family relation to shrimp and lobsters. https://t.co/UBg7CwrObN pic.twitter.com/3qn7czNg53
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) June 2, 2021
The upside of this being that if you want to eat cicadas, you can. With more people looking to insects as alternative protein to cows for environmental reasons, knowing that cicadas are akin to seafood is a good thing for allergy sufferers. That said, here are some ways to chow down on the bugs if you’re feeling adventurous.
