| Harvesting |
Chicken of the Sea premium blue swimming
crab meat is caught by artisan fishermen using traditional methods.
Our blue swimming crabs are immediately packed in ice. |
| Receiving |
At receiving, the crabs are then
immediately washed and kept on ice to keep as fresh as possible. |
| Cooking |
Crabs are then steam cooked within hours of coming off
the boats and then packed in ice to preserve freshness.
|
| Grading |
Crab meat is then graded, which refers to the process
of picking and separating out the specific forms of crab
meat and examining quality prior to processing. Crab
meat not meeting our stringent quality specifications
is rejected.
|
| Processing |
Crab meat is processed
to meet a variety of consumer and customer needs. Common
product forms are Colossal, Jumbo Lump, Super Lump, Lump,
Backfin, Special and Claw. Each facility has production
lines designed specifically to process crab meat according
to these product formats. Individual grades of crab
meat are reviewed again for adherence to grading specifications
and to remove any shell content or cartilage. |
| Packing/Sealing |
Crab meat is hand packed into cans or cups.
|
| Pasteurization |
Crab meat is then pasteurized to specific temperatures
to ensure complete pasteurization. Product is then cooled
to bring down core temperatures, then sent to refrigerated
storage.
|
| Finished Product Evaluation |
Samples of each finished production code receive qualitative and
quantitative evaluations prior to being released for shipment. Specific
attributes that are evaluated include color, odor, flavor,
smell, texture and workmanship.
|
| Shipping |
Finished product is shipped to our
customers. |