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Maintaining Crawfish Quality
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LIVE CRAWFISH should stay alive about 4 days if handled properly. To ensure maximum life of the animals:
- Store at 38°F.
- Keep out of direct sunlight.
- Do not drop sacks.
- Always lay crawfish sacks on their sides, not upright.
- Stack Crawfish bags only two deep.
- Do not spray with chlorinated water.
- If crawfish are kept cool, there should not be any need to mist the animals between deliveries.
COOKED CRAWFISH should be kept under refrigeration. To ensure maximum shelflife, the temperature should be as cold as possible...32°F is best.
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When receiving live crawfish...
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CHECK...
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ACCEPT IF...
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REJECT IF...
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Condition of the bag
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It is a loose mesh variety, is clean, free of discoloration and mud.
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It is tightly woven, muddy and contains extraneous material such as sticks, bait and the like.
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Outward appearance of animals
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The underside is clean, with no soil or mud adhering to the animal.
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The tail area is muddy.
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Presence and size of "sand vein" when removing the crawfish
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The vein appears as an empty tube, or is difficult to find.
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You observe a black dot in the center of the tail(the vein similar to our intestine).
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Liveliness of crawfish*
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100 percent of the animals are alive.
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The bag contains more than 5-10 percent dead animals.
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*Live crawfish will be mobile. When picked up, the tail should curl under the body. Dead animals will have a limpness in legs and tail when handled.
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When receiving whole cooked crawfish...
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CHECK...
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ACCEPT IF...
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REJECT IF...
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Packaging
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The crawfish is physically seperated from raw products with suitable packaging.
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Cooked crawfish are packaged in a mesh bag without a suitable barrier.
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Temperature
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The crawfish package is surrounded by ice and the temperature in the center of the package is 40°F or below.
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The temperature of the meat is above 40°F.
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Odor
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The aroma is spicy with perhaps a very faint sour odor.
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The aroma is strong, sour or putrid.
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Presence of "sand vein"
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The vein appears as an empty tube or is difficult to find.
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The vein appears as a black line in the center of the tail.
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Call (409) 794-1387
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