When the autumn wind rises, crab feet itch, hairy crabs become fatter and fatter day by day. According to the data of Yangcheng Lake hairy crab production area in Suzhou City, the production of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake this year increased by 17%, up to 11,000 tons, the largest output in the past three years; the quality of crabs is also better than last year, the largest male crabs can reach more than 5 taels, and the largest female crabs are about 4 halves. The price of hairy crabs has decreased, taking the direct stores of major online platforms as an example, the price of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake of the same specification is about 10% lower than last year.
However, with hairy crabs on the market, rumors and misinformation related to hairy crabs have returned.
"Foot crab" is cheap and good?
Many people know that dead hairy crabs cannot be eaten. This is because after the crab dies, the bacteria in the body rapidly multiply, spread, and decompose the amino acids in the crab meat to form histamine, histamine-like substances. Whether it is bacteria or histamine, histamine-like substances are harmful to health, mild cases cause allergic food poisoning, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea and other symptoms, severe may be life-threatening.
But in the market, sometimes a kind of "footcrab" appears. "Foot crabs" refer to those dying crabs, whose legs are already weak, but the crabs are not dead. The price of this crab is particularly low, only a few yuan per piece, and some stallholders even said that they did not want money. Some thrifty consumers will buy this crab to eat at home, thinking that after high temperature steaming or stir-frying, "foot crab" is no problem.
As everyone knows, such thrift is not desirable, and "foot crabs" cannot be eaten.
When a crab is dying, histamine or histamine-like substances are already produced in the crab's body, and as the crab dies, there are more and more such substances and become more and more toxic. Although the high temperature during cooking can kill some bacteria, it cannot remove histamine and other substances, so eating "leg crab" also has a high food safety risk.
Some consumers also asked, dead hairy crabs can't be eaten, why can dead pike crabs and other sea crabs be eaten? In fact, this is related to the way sea crabs are preserved after harvesting.
For many sea crabs, especially those caught in the open water, a significant number die quickly after leaving the sea. Therefore, with the exception of some live sea crabs that are flown in air, most of the sea crabs are quick-frozen after fishing, while others are preserved using cooked frozen – live sea crabs are cooked and frozen immediately. These methods can effectively reduce the rate of bacterial growth after the death of sea crabs and avoid the production of toxic substances in sea crabs.
In fact, sea crabs are also fresh and tastier. If it is a frozen sea crab, it must also be eaten as soon as possible after thawing, otherwise there is also a risk of spoilage.
Shipping is the crab origin?
Although the volume of hairy crabs has fallen sharply this year, the market competition is fierce. On the online platform, "price wars" are not uncommon, and many nominal "Suzhou delivery" and "Yangcheng Lake" delivery. Are these crabs all authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs?
The answer is no.
For many years, Yangcheng Lake hairy crab, as a national geographical indication product of China, is equipped with a bright and positive "crab buckle" and can be traced back to the source. However, some merchants said that those raised in the Yangcheng Lake system can be counted as "Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs", and if they do not wear "crab buckles", the price is more favorable. As for whether it is raised in the Yangcheng Lake system, you can know by looking at the place of delivery.
This is not the case. Some dealers admitted that although the hairy crabs they supply are all Chinese river crabs (that is, hairy crab varieties from Yangcheng Lake), they come from different production areas, but they are shipped to Suzhou from various production areas and then shipped, "because the maturity period and specifications of crabs in different production areas are different." For example, Xinjiang snow crabs are also Chinese river crabs, which mature earlier than Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, but the size is smaller. If customers need small-sized crabs, Xinjiang snow crabs are very suitable. He said that although he would not describe Xinjiang snow crabs as "hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake", he would not explicitly say in the product introduction that the crabs in question "came from Xinjiang", "Just saying 'delivered in Suzhou' is not false propaganda, right?" ”
So, how to avoid "the place of origin is not equal to the place of origin"? Jin Jishou, general manager of the fresh food business department of Jingdong Supermarket, introduced that the regular suppliers of hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake should have qualifications such as "double certificates", including agricultural product geographical indication certificates, geographical indication use agreements, etc., and some merchants will also send on-site management personnel to inspect the goods on the spot of suppliers, "consumers should pay attention to those businesses that cannot take 'double certificates', 'double certificates' do not correspond to the brand or have vague publicity." It is not that hairy crabs from other origins are of poor quality, but it is necessary to avoid merchants taking advantage of the origin premium. ”
It is also necessary to pay attention to problems such as "short pounds and two pounds". The grass rope, cotton rope and crab dehydration after harvesting will make the actual weight of the crab lower than the nominal weight, collectively known as the "dehydration rate". Jin Jishou introduced that the current common dehydration rate in the industry is about 7% to 12%, and the stricter platform will be set within 6%, consumers may wish to ask about the dehydration rate when purchasing, to avoid merchants using bundled rope or "dehydration rate" to make a fuss, deceive consumers.
"Nine females and ten males" are divided like this
"Is female crab delicious or male crab delicious" is also a topic of concern for many consumers. As the old saying goes, "nine females and ten males", so it's October, should you eat male crabs?
"That's not right." Wang Hao, the descendant of the "Wang Bao and Crab Banquet" of Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage item, explained that the old saying "nine females and ten males" refers to the ninth month of the lunar calendar and the October month of the lunar calendar, corresponding to October and November of the Gregorian calendar. So, right now, the female crabs are fuller. However, "ten males" does not mean that female crabs in October are not delicious, but that male crabs are fatter in October of the lunar calendar, and female crabs are still the best tasting period in October of the lunar calendar. Usually, hairy crabs from the Gangnam area can be supplied until the end of November and the beginning of December of that year.
However, beware of some businesses taking advantage of information asymmetry to confuse female crabs with male crabs. Some businesses have put up the banner of "all female crabs", but there are consumer evaluation feedback, and the crabs received do not seem to be female crabs, but male crabs. On social platforms, there are also consumers who ask how to distinguish female crabs from male crabs, and there are various answers. In fact, the easiest way to distinguish between male and female hairy crabs is to look at the navel - the navel with sharp horns and can be turned open is the male crab, and the flat without sharp horns is the female crab.
Male crab↑
Female crab↑
For the various "taboos" of eating crabs, it is also a mixed truth.
First of all, seriously: crab stomachs, crab intestines, crab hearts, crab gills cannot be eaten. These four parts are either cold, or contain impurities and bacteria, which is not conducive to health. Usually, the merchant will use pictures and text to introduce the position of these 4 parts on the crab, and consumers can remove them according to the diagram.
Secondly, the falsehood: "pregnant and lactating women cannot eat crabs" and "crabs and persimmons will be poisoned when eaten together" are not credible.
Crabs are cold, so it is recommended that people with weak spleen and stomach eat in moderation, and for pregnant and lactating women, if they are not in special physical condition, they can also be eaten appropriately.
Crab protein is higher, while persimmons, pomegranates, hawthorn and other fruits are rich in tannic acid, which combines with protein, which will affect intestinal absorption, cause indigestion, and cause gastrointestinal discomfort, but this is not poisoning.
Source: Shanghai Internet refuted rumors