How safe are the prawns YOU'RE eating? Check it Out Here

Are you partial to a prawn mayo sandwich, drawn by the lure of a shrimp cocktail on a menu?

Once only enjoyed by the affluent, prawns are now a healthy, cheap option filling supermarkets, sandwich bars and restaurants across the world.

But have you ever stopped to think about where the ones you're eating have come from? 

Forget sun-kissed seas and a lone fisherman casting his nets into the Indian Ocean to haul in his catch.

For a new report shows that idyllic picture could not be further from the truth.

Experts in the US found the majority of the shrimp sold on supermarket shelves arrive there after starting life on vast prawn farms in south east Asia. 

Many prawns sold in the UK also come from places such as Thailand and Indonesia. 

They tested 342 packages of frozen shrimp - 284 raw and 58 cooked samples - from large, chain supermarkets and natural food stores in 27 cities across the US.

And their investigation revealed 60 per cent of the prawns were found to have traces of harmful bacteria, including E.coli, which can cause violent food poisoning.