A Look at the Quality and Safety Issues Facing Crustacean Suppliers

“While most lobsters caught in Maine are sold live, especially for the export market, domestic processors are creating value-added products for retail and food service with increasing regularity,” Dr. Bolton points out. “Lobster meat for lobster rolls, macaroni and cheese, and ravioli are examples of popular products in demand. And, for the companies in our state producing these products, food quality and safety are top priorities.”

Crustacean Quality Issues

Three issues will likely impact the availability of quality crustaceans in the years ahead—namely, water quality, reduced harvest pressure, and disease control, according to David Green, PhD, professor emeritus of food science at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Dr. Green is the founder and former director of the NCSU Center for Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, N.C.

“Selling large quantities of crustaceans consistently depends on having multiple sources of high-quality product, including sourcing from foreign countries,” he contends. “In addition, complying with Food Safety Modernization Act requirements, including traceability and country-of-origin labeling, is an ongoing challenge for crustacean purveyors. In the United States, crustacean processors and distributors must record hand-to-hand traceability—that is, who they buy from and who they sell to. But if a distributor co-mingles products from multiple suppliers, traceability can become more burdensome.”

High pressure processing is becoming more widely used for crustacean processing, Dr. Green says. “Not only does HPP inactivate pathogens and extend shelf life while maintaining the natural flavor, aroma, and nutritional characteristics of foods, the technique is especially useful for removing a lobster’s outer shell,” he says. Applying hydrostatic pressure at 43,500 to 87,000 pounds per square inch (psi) transmitted by cold water, HPP weakens the muscles that attach the shell to the meat, making lobster stripping easy, he adds. This is a real plus, because shells typically have to be removed by hand, making lobster processing a labor-intensive task.

“HPP facilitates recovery of basically 100 percent of the edible parts of the lobster,” adds Roberto Peregrina, Miami, Fla.-based USA director of Hiperbaric, a Spanish manufacturer of HPP systems. “That offers benefits for food service professionals as they develop new culinary creations.”