Bad news for crab stick lovers today, as a video circulating of how they're really made has caused people to swear them off for good.
Crab sticks are a popular seafood snack among many, despite the fact that they look and feel man-made. Delicious to munch on, though.
But this viral video might change many people's minds, as it has recently come to light again on social media, with it proving to be eye-opening like the video showing how chicken nuggets are made, I guess there are a lot of foods that can put you off for good.
Warning - it's a grim watch.
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If you thought these sticks were put together through pressing crab meat together before slicing it up, or maybe being made into some sort of mushy solid before being cut into sticks, I'm sorry to say that the answer is much worse.
Unfortunately for those that like the food, the true colour of the crab meat in the video isn't pink or white, it's a lot worse.
One video on YouTube has opened up a can of worms, as it shows how slushy grey contents are spilled out.
No matter how deep you root round in the mush, there is no hope to be found at the bottom of that container.
Firstly, there’s the meat. What you can see are slabs of frozen fish meat, most commonly a species called Alaska Pollack, which is fed into a machine to be broken up.
Other ingredients, including wheat and egg white are then added to the mixture, which is churned up using a large rotating blue disc.
Yum.
This produces a thick goo-like substance (sorry for the visual) reminiscent of wallpaper paste or clay, which is then fed into a machine to produce a long single strip.
These strips are then spun together and shred to initiate the texture of crab or lobster meat.
Some of this can be sold as surimi, or substitute crab meat but the rest is encased in the distinctive orange-coloured casing, which mimics the skin you might find on lobster or crab meat.
Then, the pieces are cut to the right length, and there you go. A lovely snack to-go!
Some viewers were not impressed by the manufacturing process for crab sticks and even felt sick after watching it.
One person wrote: "I will never purchase this ever again! Thank you for opening my eyes!"
As another said: "I always thought this stuff was disgusting, now I KNOW it is."
However, others weren’t running for the hills after seeing the video, and seem to understand that it’s not for everyone.
"To be perfectly honest, I like the product. It's very affordable and makes a very good cold crab salad", commented one.
Another wrote: "I love adding lots of mock crabmeat to my delicious pasta salad recipe. See, now y'all went and made me hungry!!!"
There you go, it seems you can't argue with convenience.
Topics: Viral, Social Media, YouTube, Health
Joshua Nair