What's in a Name: Crabless Crab Legs No Longer Imitation

FDA Approves New Label For Surimi, a Fish Paste; Lobstermen's Lament

If cheese mixed with emulsifiers and other stuff is called "pasteurized process cheese food," what do you call a fish paste made to look like crab meat?

Until now, the Food and Drug Administration has required that the product, known as surimi, be labeled "imitation crab." But after a dozen years of lobbying, the seafood industry has succeeded in getting permission to drop that unappealing description. Instead, it may now use a new, long-winded label: "Crab-flavored seafood, made with surimi, a fully cooked fish protein." The phrase can be adapted for surimi made to resemble lobster, scallops, shrimp and other ...

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