![]() ![]() The state does not require restaurants to identify the source of the crab meat that ends up on your plate. But not crab meat being used in dishes like crab cakes and crab soup. The legislation applies to live crabs and steamed crabs. "So the idea behind this law was let's create a requirement that if you're gonna call something local, you have to tell the consumer where it's from," Powell said. For crabs, the legislation requires businesses to have a sign saying what state they were raised or landed if they're being touted as local. He’s talking about a 2011 state labeling law that's on the books. ![]() "If you identify crabs as Maryland, it has to be from Maryland," said Mark Powell with Maryland’s Department of Agriculture. However, there's little regulatory enforcement to prevent mislabeled shellfish making its way to consumers. In 2016, crabs had a dockside value of $56.6-million. The seafood industry contributes about $600-million to the state's economy every year. “You're buying a superior product, and the crabber and his family should benefit from going out and harvesting Maryland crabs and being paid a fair market value for their incredible hard work, and then give the public the option to make the choice." She says these less expensive, imposter crustaceans drive down the price for real Maryland blue crabs. “And then they're brought into the state, sold to like crab houses or middle men that sell them steamed to take home, and they're labeled as Maryland."Ĭarrion is a member of the Maryland Seafood Marketing Advisory Commission. "The majority of the crabs in Maryland are coming out of primarily North Carolina and Louisiana and Texas,” said Lee Carrion with Coveside Crabs. The Maryland crabs on area menus might not come from the Chesapeake Bay.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |