Red crabs

A market label covering several Pacific crab species, principally Pleuroncodes planipes and Chaceon quinquedens, traded whole and cooked, as picked meat, in cans, and as pastes. Their sweet, delicate flesh suits salads, sandwiches, and hot dishes alike. Like all crabmeat they are highly perishable, demanding rapid cooking or chilling after harvest, hygienic picking rooms, and unbroken cold chains to restrain spoilage and pathogens. Because multiple species share the name, accurate species labeling lets buyers know exactly which red crab they are getting.