Don't throw out the lobster with the tomalley

Even if you were planning a big East Coast-style lobster bake to celebrate the summer, the FDA's warning to avoid eating lobster tomalley still shouldn’t pose a problem. The tomalley is the soft green paste inside the lobster's head and it is easily avoided — in fact, most people spoon it out and discard it anyway. Generally, if it is eaten, it is mixed with mayonnaise to make a sauce. There is no evidence that problems with the tomalley affect the rest of the meat in the lobster.

The FDA warning came about because of red tide conditions in the northern Atlantic states and Canada, where most of the Maine lobsters are caught. (Read what Times Health Editor Tami Dennis had to say here.) The toxins produced by this algae bloom are captured and concentrated in the tomalley, and eating it can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. Cooking does not reduce the toxins.

Because the red tide conditions are limited by geography, this warning does not include local Pacific spiny lobsters--the season for which begins in the fall--or Florida spiny lobsters, which begin their season this week.

--Russ Parsons