Until now, theFood and Drug Administrationhas required that the product, known assurimi, be labeled"imitation crab." ※すり身
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 seafood, as well.
The industry hopes the new label will help increase sales of an odd product that caught on in the boom for ethnic food but which has had flat sales for the past decade.
"The word 'imitation' is not as annoying as 'fake,' but we shudder when we hear the word," says John van Amerongen, a spokesman for Trident Seafoods Corp.
The new label applies to products sold ingrocery stores, not to food sold at salad bars, delis and restaurants.