Does lime juice make raw shrimp safe to eat?

Acid can firm shrimp without providing the same food-safety control as cooking.

For the cook: lime changes the texture and appearance of shrimp, but that visible change does not show that harmful microbes have been controlled. Use the food-safety guidance below when deciding how to prepare it.

No published measurement of acid penetration depth against time in shrimp, and no comparative texture study by species was found.

Evidence behind the answer

This answer is linked to the research rule above. Confidence describes its evidence, not the review status of this page. We tell you when we don’t know.

• PubMed research record · PMID 28102019 ↗

  Linked research for: Acid can firm shrimp without providing the same food-safety control as cooking.. Open the source to assess its methods and limitations.

• Journal of Travel Medicine (2010) · Bacterial survival during ceviche preparation ↗

  Food-safety evidence: this study concerns bacteria in fish ceviche; it is not a shrimp-specific cooking-time study.

• PubMed research record · PMID 22564452 ↗

  Linked research for: Acid can firm shrimp without providing the same food-safety control as cooking.. Open the source to assess its methods and limitations.

• FDA · Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, Chapter 5 (Parasites) ↗

  Parasite-control guidance; acid-induced opacity is not a validated safety control.

• America’s Test Kitchen · Ceviche cooking times ↗

  Culinary preparation context, not a substitute for food-safety guidance.

• FDA · Selecting and Serving Fresh and Frozen Seafood Safely ↗

  Food-safety guidance for buying, storing and preparing seafood.