But these misunderstandings should be avoided. The price has dropped by 10% year-on-year, and hairy crabs are becoming more and more plump.

The autumn wind blows, crab legs itch, and hairy crabs become fatter and plumper. For old people, this year will be a blessing: According to data from the Yangcheng Lake hairy crab production area in Suzhou City, Yangcheng Lake hairy crab production increased by 17% this year, reaching 11,000 tons, the largest production in the past three years; the quality of the crabs is also better than last year. The largest male crab can reach more than 5 taels, and the largest female crab can reach about 4 and a half taels. The price of hairy crabs has dropped. Taking the direct-operated stores of major online platforms as an example, the price of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs of the same specifications has dropped by about 10% compared with last year.

However, with the large-scale launch of hairy crabs, rumors and misinformation related to hairy crabs have returned with a vengeance.

This is the Yangcheng Lake hairy crab seine breeding area.

Many people know that dead hairy crabs cannot be eaten. This is because after the crab dies, bacteria in the body multiply and spread rapidly, and decompose the amino acids in the crab meat to form histamine and histamine-like substances. Whether it is bacteria, histamine, or histamine-like substances, they are harmful to health. In mild cases, they may cause allergic food poisoning, with symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, and in severe cases, they may be life-threatening.

But in the market, sometimes a kind of "leg crab" appears. "Stretched crabs" refer to those crabs that are dying. The crab's legs are already weak, but the crab is not dead yet. The price of this kind of crab is extremely low, only a few yuan per piece, and some stall owners even said they don’t need to pay for it. Some frugal consumers will buy this kind of crab to eat at home, thinking that after being steamed or stir-fried at high temperature, there is no problem with "leg crab".

As everyone knows, such frugality is not advisable, and "crabs with legs" cannot eat it.

When a crab is dying, histamine or histamine-like substances are already produced in the crab's body, and as the crab dies, more and more of these substances become more toxic. Although the high temperature during cooking can kill some bacteria, it cannot remove histamine and other substances, so eating "leg crab" also poses a high food safety risk.

Some consumers also ask, if you can’t eat dead hairy crabs, why can you eat dead swimming crabs and other sea crabs? In fact, this is related to the way crabs are preserved after being caught.

For many sea crabs, especially those caught offshore, a considerable number will die quickly after leaving the sea. Therefore, except for some fresh sea crabs transported by air, most sea crabs will be quick-frozen to preserve their freshness after being caught, while some are frozen to preserve their freshness - the live sea crabs are cooked and immediately frozen. These methods can effectively reduce the rate of bacterial growth after the crab dies and prevent the production of toxic substances in the crab.

In fact, sea crabs are also more delicious when they are fresh. If it is frozen sea crab, it must be eaten as soon as possible after thawing, otherwise there is a risk of spoilage.

Although the quantity of hairy crabs has dropped sharply this year, the market competition is fierce. "Price wars" are not uncommon on online platforms, and many products are labeled as "shipping from Suzhou" and "shipping from Yangcheng Lake". Are these crabs authentic Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs?

For many years, Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, as China's national geographical indication products, have been equipped with bright "crab buckles" and can be traced to their origins. However, some merchants said that any crab raised in Yangcheng Lake water system can be counted as "Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs", and if they do not wear "crab buckles", the price will be more favorable. As for whether it was raised in the Yangcheng Lake water system, you can tell by looking at the place of shipment.

But in fact, it's not. A dealer admitted frankly that although the hairy crabs it supplies are all Chinese mitten crabs, they come from different production areas. They are only shipped from each production area to Suzhou before shipping, "because the maturity stages and specifications of crabs in different production areas are different." "For example, Xinjiang snow crab is also a Chinese mitten crab, which matures earlier than Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, but is smaller in size. If customers need small-sized crabs, Xinjiang snow crab is very suitable," he said, although he would not use Xinjiang snow crab. The crabs are said to be "Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs," but they won't explicitly state in the product introduction that the crabs "come from Xinjiang." "Just saying 'shipped from Suzhou' doesn't count as false advertising, right?"

So, how to avoid "the place of shipment is not equal to the place of production"? Jin Jishou, general manager of the fresh food business department of Jingdong Supermarket, said that regular suppliers of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs should have "double certificates" and other qualifications, including agricultural product geographical indication certificates, geographical indication use agreements, etc. Some merchants will also send on-site management For on-site inspection of suppliers, "Consumers should pay attention to merchants who cannot produce 'double certificates', whose 'double certificates' do not correspond to the brand, or whose promotion is vague. This does not mean that the quality of hairy crabs from other origins is not good, but they should avoid Merchants take advantage of origin premiums.”

We should also pay attention to problems such as "short of pounds and missing of liang". The straw ropes and cotton ropes used to tie crabs and the dehydration of crabs after fishing will make the actual weight of crabs lower than the nominal weight, collectively referred to as "dehydration rate". Jin Jishou introduced that the current common dehydration rate in the industry is around 7% to 12%, and stricter platforms will set it within 6%. Consumers may wish to ask about the dehydration rate when purchasing to avoid merchants using tied ropes or "dehydration" Make a fuss about "rate" and deceive consumers.

"Whether female crabs are better to eat or male crabs?" is also a topic that many consumers are concerned about. As the old saying goes, "Nine females and ten males", so now that it's October, should we eat male crabs?

"This is wrong." Wang Hao, the successor of the Shanghai Intangible Cultural Heritage Project "Wang Bao and Crab Feast" explained that the "nine females and ten males" in the old saying refer to September and October of the lunar calendar, which are almost the same as those of the Gregorian calendar. October and November. Therefore, female crabs are plumper now. However, "ten males" does not mean that female crabs in October are not delicious, but that male crabs become fatter in October of the lunar calendar, and female crabs are still the best tasting period in October of the lunar calendar. Usually, hairy crabs from the Jiangnan area can be supplied until the end of November or the beginning of December of that year.

However, beware that some merchants take advantage of information asymmetry to confuse female crabs with male crabs. Some merchants advertised as "all female crabs", but some consumer reviews indicated that the crabs received did not seem to be female crabs, but male crabs. On social platforms, some consumers also asked how to distinguish female crabs from male crabs, and the answers were varied. In fact, the easiest way to distinguish male and female hairy crabs is to look at the navel - the navel with sharp corners and can be opened is a male crab, while the navel with no sharp corners is a female crab.

Regarding the various "taboos" about eating crabs, there are also mixed truths and falsehoods.

First of all, let’s be serious: crab stomachs, intestines, hearts, and gills cannot be eaten. These four parts are either very cold or contain impurities and bacteria, which are not good for your health. Usually, merchants will use pictures and texts to introduce the locations of these four parts on the crab, and consumers can remove them according to the pictures.

Secondly, the false claims: "Pregnant and lactating women cannot eat crabs" and "Eating crabs and persimmons together will cause poisoning" are not credible.

Crab is cold in nature, so it is recommended that people with weak spleen and stomach eat it in moderation. Pregnant women and lactating women can also eat it in moderation unless they have special constitutions.

Crab has high protein, while fruits such as persimmons, pomegranates, and hawthorns are rich in tannic acid. Tannic acid combines with protein, which will affect intestinal absorption, cause indigestion, and cause gastrointestinal discomfort, but this is not poisoning.