What is Pasteurized Crab Meat?

Some people who buy canned crab meat at supermarket often spot some label that mention ‘pasteurized’ crab meat. Actually, what is pasteurized crab meat? The process of pasteurize the crab meat can help to make the shelf life of the meat longer than the fresh and frozen crab meat. This is means that the crab has been cooked in high temperature so they can be safely eaten and ready to be cooked even without further cooking. That’s some simple explanation to answer the question and of course you can read longer and detailed explanation below.

Understanding what is pasteurized crab meat
People often questioning what is pasteurized crab meat when they saw such label on crab meat cans they want to buy. Actually, pasteurized process is meaning that the seafood has been cooked in heat pressured or high temperature to kill all the bacteria inside the meat so they can be safe and edible to be consumed. This is why most of the pasteurized crab meat that you find in the supermarket or grocery stores is ready to eat even without further process. Most of them are semi cooked or cooked and you do not even need to clean and prepare them anymore.
The benefits of such process also affect the shelf life of pasteurized crab meat. Averagely, pasteurized crab meat has longer shelf life for months compared with unpasteurized crab meat like fresh and frozen crab meats. Furthermore, with today’s modern technology, pasteurize the crab meat is quite easy. Usually the crab meat is packed inside air tight cans or plastic wrap or glass jar. They can last for months (usually 3 to 12 months) in unopened condition. However if you open them then the pasteurized crab meat can only last for at least 2 to 3 days and need to be used immediately just like fresh crab meat.

Pasteurized crab meat process in the facilities
Pasteurized crab meat process begins when the facilities receive the crab meat from the fishermen. On the boat, the crab was speed frozen to lock the freshness and after that being delivered to the facilities. For the crabs that going to be processed immediately, they are move to the facility processing stage while the others are kept inside freezer with special temperature until they are being used. The frozen crabs are taken with FIFO (First in First Out) method. To prevent the cross contamination, when the crabs are stored in the freezer, they are need to be separated from other seafood products.

The crabs are sorted based on their qualities, if they staffs spot unhealthy or rotten crabs then they are being removed from the process. The quality inspection is needed so only the best crab meat is packed till the last process. After the crabs are sorted based on their sizes, species, and qualities then they are rinsed with cold water (for frozen crabs) and after that the crabs are cleaned and gutted out.
Here is the step by step of what is pasteurized crab meat process to understand better about pasteurized crab product processed in the facilities:
1.      After the crabs are sorted out, they are cleaned and gutted out. The crabs then cuts into pieces such as their claws, legs, body meats, swimming fins, etc. This is important step since pasteurized canned crabs are categorized into grades from colossal or jumbo lump to claws crab meat.

2.      The crab meats is processed into cooker room when they are being cooked or semi cooked and thus they are ready to be consumed later even without further cooking process. The cooking temperature is being set in order to cook the crab meats perfectly and not overcooked.
3.      The crabs are cooled down in another room before being pasteurized. The cooked crabs are stored in cans and then move to the pasteurized cooked room where they are going through heat pressured with high temperature until all the bacteria inside the meat is killed. This process can be conducted thanks to the modern tech.
4.      The pasteurized canned crab meat is cooled down once again inside air cooling room. When they are cooled down, the cans are closed with lids so they are really neutralized from possible contamination.

5.      Few canned crab meat which already pasteurized are stored in some room for few hours or one day to make sure that there is no damaged canned crab meat and to see their qualities. If the canned crab is leaked then they need to be inspected once again.
6.      If there is no problem with the canned pasteurized crab meat, the cans are ready to be packaged and shipped to various customers including wholesalers, distributors, retailers, supermarkets, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, and end-users.
During the delivery process, it is important to manage and handle the pasteurized canned crab perfectly since there is delivery process risk that possible to happen. The pasteurized canned crab meat can be damaged, crushed, etc. due to the long trip and thus it is important for the factory to store them in the right method. Of course aside crab meat in cans, other pasteurized crab meat can be packed inside glass jar or even air tight plastic wrap or packaging.

The benefits of buying pasteurized crab meat
Few benefits of buying pasteurized crab meat can be listed below:
1.      They have longer shelf life than fresh crab meat for months.
2.      They are ready to be eaten even without further cook meaning you can cut preparing and cleaning stage.
3.      They are sold in cheaper price than fresh crab meat so it is economical alternative of expensive crab meat.
4.      They are available year round and easy to be found anywhere and anytime even if you life in big cities.
5.      They are versatile and can be cooked or mixed with various other ingredients to make a nice healthy dishes or recipes.
6.      Pasteurized crab meat is very simple crab meat packaged product which you can rely on when you want to make quick dish.
Hope this information above can answer all of your questions regarding what is pasteurized crab meat.

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