People are realising how crab sticks are made as they brand them ‘hot dogs of the sea’ and vow to never eat them again
THE HUMBLE crab stick has been popular since the 80s tossed in salad, now they seem to have had a resurgence as people add them to ramen or seafood boils.
The food has often been used as a cheap alternative to crabs but fans are vowing to never eat them again.
It comes after foodies have just realised how the crab sticks, also known as imitation crab, are really made.
After seeing the process of how the red and white sticks are processed some have dubbed them the ‘hot dog of the ocean.’
It comes after a Thai crab stick factory revealed their manufacturing secrets through a YouTube video, reports the Mirror.
It showed the transformation from unappetising grey blocks to the familiar red-and-white striped sticks seen in shops.
Initially resembling massive, grey, concrete-like slabs, the frozen fish meat blocks undergo several stages before becoming edible.
They’re first pulverised by machinery into a mushy mix, then carried along a conveyor belt where salt and various spices are infused.
Next ice, vegetable oil, and sugars are blended in.
The footage shows factory workers funnelling the mixture through a tube, which turns it into a grey paste which is then shaped and coloured to achieve the iconic crab stick appearance.
The Thai factory boasts being the globe’s largest, churning out 40,000 tons of fish sticks annually – that’s quadruple the weight of the Eiffel Tower. It sells to more than 37 nations.
But it seems the video has put people off of the snack.
Taking to Reddit, people shared their disgust after witnessing the video.
One person wrote: “Hot dogs of the sea”.
Another commented: “The only ingredient I could identify was the ice”.
Humorously addressing the unappetising mush, a comment read: “Everything ok hun? You’ve hardly touched your grey.”
A fourth penned: “Bet that place smells wonderful”.
Another person noted: “If the title hadn’t specified they were making crab sticks, or in fact any type of food, I would’ve gotten to 1:38 before I realised that they weren’t making some sort of industrial building material.”