People are horrified after finding out this is how crab sticks are made

Bright pink and white crab sticks are super popular with folks, but turns out we don't actually know much about how they're made. Here's what happens behind the scenes.

People are horrified after finding out this is how crab sticks are made
© Natan Machado Fotografia Gastronômica
People are horrified after finding out this is how crab sticks are made

When a food is named 'crab sticks,' anyone would assume that it must be made up of crab meat. But turns out, the real ingredients inside this popular snack is far from what consumers might have imagined. Yes, much like when people were left shocked to find out that chewing gum has this bizarre ingredient, or where Parmesan cheese actually comes from, people are horrified to find out the reality behind crab sticks.

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A simple Google search would reveal that alternate names for crab sticks is also 'imitation crab sticks,' and this is because these sticks are made to look like crab but doesn't necessarily have any crab meat inside. The revelation of what's inside has left some people swearing to become a vegetarian.

Here's how you crab sticks are actually made.

How crab sticks are actually made

A video posted by @foodworkshop007 on Reddit shows the behind-the-scene of producing and packaging crab sticks.

As the video reveals, these sticks are not made from pink looking crab meat at all. In fact, grey fleshy piles of stuff are put through a variety of industrial processes before being cut into long cylindrical strips and dyed pink to resemble the food that we all recognise.

How crabsticks are made
by u/rco888 in Damnthatsinteresting

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People's reaction to the video

The video elicited some big reactions from Redditors. One commenter declared,

So basically fish hotdogs

Another stated a concern most viewers could relate to,

The only ingredient I could identify was the ice

Some viewers with more knowledge about the process explained that the grey blocks are just ground white fish. One such commenter clarified,

The white blocks are ground white fish, usually pollock. The dye in better quality products is carmine, which comes from bugs. The factories smell incredibly bad all the time. (Source: have been inside a few for work)

While many viewers were disgusted, and swore off eating crab sticks again, others were more pragmatic. One stated,

Surprise: every processed meat is made similar like this.

While true crab meat fans were not dissuaded by the video. One such viewer declared,

Shockingly enough I’d still eat it.

Did you know that crab sticks are made this way? If you didn't, are you going to keep enjoying them knowing how they're made, or is this the end of your crab sticks days?

Read more:

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Sources used:

Reddit: r/Damnthatsinteresting

People are just finding out how sliced ham is really made: 'I can’t eat anything anymore!' People are just finding out how sliced ham is really made: 'I can’t eat anything anymore!'