Crab stick fans left disgusted after learning how seafood snack is really made
Although they might not be as popular as they were in their '80s heyday, crab sticks are still a tasty treat that many people enjoy. Whether having them as part of a salad or sushi - or even just eating them as a snack - lots of us enjoy tucking into a humble crab stick.
However, a revelation about how they are made has put some former fans off for life. After seeing the process behind the fishy food, someone even branded them "the hot dogs of the sea".
They are available in most supermarkets and big stores throughout Scotland, the UK, and the rest of the world. But their journey to Scotland's shelves has put some people off.
The Mirror reported in 2023 that a crab stick factory in Thailand shared how they made the frozen food with a video on YouTube.
The sticks start off life as huge, grey, concrete-like slabs - a far cry from the tasty-looking red-and-white stick you see in packets in your local store.
The frozen fish meat blocks go through a range of processes before they are ready to eat, starting with being fed through a machine that crushes them up into a sludgy substance.
This fishy concoction travels along a conveyor belt where salt and other seasonings are added. It is then mixed with ice, vegetable oil, and sugars.
In the clip, factory workers are seen feeding this through a tube, which whips it into a dull, grey paste. It is then moulded into the right shape and dyed red and white for the classic crab stick look.
The Thai factory claims to be the world's largest, with 40,000 tons of fish sticks produced every year - which is four times heavier than the Eiffel Tower.
The factory is said to sell to more than 37 countries worldwide - but some customers may be reconsidering after seeing the footage.
After it was posted on Reddit, one person branded the food "hot dogs of the sea". While another added: "The only ingredient I could identify was the ice".
Joking about tucking into the crab sticks, someone said: "Everything ok hun? You've hardly touched your grey." A fourth person said: "Bet that place smells wonderful"
Someone else commented: "If the title hadn't specified they were making crab sticks, or in fact any type of food, I would've gotten to 1:38 before I realised that they weren't making some sort of industrial building material."
However, one person pointed out: "It's just chopped meat run through a chopper with ice and spice to bind it like a sausage. Nothing new humans have been doing this to meat a a long time."
Crab sticks aren't the only food whose origins have left fans feeling queasy. Marmite lovers said they "can't eat it anymore" after discovering what goes into the love-it-or-hate-it spread.
One episode of Channel 4's Food Unwrapped changed some long-held opinions after a clip from an older episode resurfaced in 2023, with presenter Kate Quilton visiting a factory in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire. She was looking into how Marmite, and other yeast products, were made.
The Channel 4 programme then showed how yeast cells produce alcohol as they multiply. This means breweries can be left with seven times more yeast than they originally had, and much of it is not needed.
The breweries often sell the excess to factories that make yeast extract. And many viewers were left stunned to discover that their favourite breakfast product was actually made using an alcohol by-product.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Wilko's £1.49 household essential will drive nibbling pests out of your garden – and it won't even harm your plants
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A GARDENING fans has revealed his unique method for keeping rabbits away from your vegetable patch, using a £1.49 Wilko buy. With summer now in full swing, gardens around the country will be bursting with scrumptious veg, ready to harvest. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Rabbits are known for nibbling through veg patches Credit: Getty 2 One gardener shared how he used forks to keep rabbits at bay Credit: Reddit And although you may be eager to transfer your home-grown veg onto your dinner plate, many pests have the same idea. Rabbits can be a real problem in the summer, as they burrow in to your garden and attack your vegetable patch. Some gardeners opt to plant flowers that are poisonous to rabbits, to keep them away, whilst others choose to place floating covers over their veg. Fork hack Sharing a more unique approach, one gardener took to Reddit to reveal the common household item he uses to banish the pests. "Hey rabbits, fork you!" the gardener joked, sharing a snap of a multitude of forks placed into the soil around his vegetables, prong side up. The post stunned Redditors, with one racing to the comments section to ask if the hack worked. For the most part yes it works," he replied. "They sometimes nibble around the edges but it makes it impossible for them to hop through. "The forks saves me from having to make a rabbit-proof fence." Other Redditors rushed to share their thoughts on the hack, with one commenting: "This is what I did for stray cats and then I bought some spike mats to go under the mulch and now nothing seems to bother my garden. Top Hacks to Keep Foxes Out of Your Garden Another said: "My grandma always told me to hang tin pie plates from the garden fence. "The wind pushes them, and they reflect and make noise. It makes the rabbits uneasy." If you don't have any spare forks lying around, you can pick up cutlery from Wilko for as little as £1.49. More pest busting hacks If rabbits aren't your only pest problem, Jordan Foster from Fantastic Pest Control, has revealed the garden herb rats can't stand. Keep pests out all summer IF you want to ensure that your home is pest free this summer, here's what you need to know. Hornets and wasps - hate the smell of peppermint oil so spraying this liberally around your patio or balcony can help to keep them at bay. Moths - acidic household white vinegar is effective for deterring moths. Soak some kitchen roll in vinegar and leave it in your wardrobe as a deterrent. Flying ants - herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, mint, chilli pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, or garlic act as deterrents. Mosquitoes - plants, herbs and essential oil fragrances can help deter mozzies inside and out. Try eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass. He revealed that the rodents find mint "very offensive" because of its very strong smell. Therefore, to help deter rats you can plant some mint plants in your flower beds. You can pick up a mint plant from Asda for just £1. And if stray cats keep pooing in your garden, TikToker Becky revealed her tried and tested method for keeping them at bay. She said: "Here's my number one tip if you, like us, have issues with neighbouring cats trying to use your lovely planters or pots as a blooming litter tray. 'Coffee grounds!" "Apparently, the cats don't like the smell", she explained.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- The Sun
Wilko's £1.49 household essential will drive nibbling pests out of your garden – and it won't even harm your plants
A GARDENING fans has revealed his unique method for keeping rabbits away from your vegetable patch, using a £1.49 Wilko buy. With summer now in full swing, gardens around the country will be bursting with scrumptious veg, ready to harvest. 2 2 And although you may be eager to transfer your home-grown veg onto your dinner plate, many pests have the same idea. Rabbits can be a real problem in the summer, as they burrow in to your garden and attack your vegetable patch. Some gardeners opt to plant flowers that are poisonous to rabbits, to keep them away, whilst others choose to place floating covers over their veg. Fork hack Sharing a more unique approach, one gardener took to Reddit to reveal the common household item he uses to banish the pests. "Hey rabbits, fork you!" the gardener joked, sharing a snap of a multitude of forks placed into the soil around his vegetables, prong side up. The post stunned Redditors, with one racing to the comments section to ask if the hack worked. For the most part yes it works," he replied. "They sometimes nibble around the edges but it makes it impossible for them to hop through. "The forks saves me from having to make a rabbit-proof fence." Other Redditors rushed to share their thoughts on the hack, with one commenting: "This is what I did for stray cats and then I bought some spike mats to go under the mulch and now nothing seems to bother my garden. Top Hacks to Keep Foxes Out of Your Garden Another said: "My grandma always told me to hang tin pie plates from the garden fence. "The wind pushes them, and they reflect and make noise. It makes the rabbits uneasy." If you don't have any spare forks lying around, you can pick up cutlery from Wilko for as little as £1.49. More pest busting hacks If rabbits aren't your only pest problem, Jordan Foster from Fantastic Pest Control, has revealed the garden herb rats can't stand. IF you want to ensure that your home is pest free this summer, here's what you need to know. Hornets and wasps - hate the smell of peppermint oil so spraying this liberally around your patio or balcony can help to keep them at bay. Moths - acidic household white vinegar is effective for deterring moths. Soak some kitchen roll in vinegar and leave it in your wardrobe as a deterrent. Flying ants - herbs and spices, such as cinnamon, mint, chilli pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, cloves, or garlic act as deterrents. Mosquitoes - plants, herbs and essential oil fragrances can help deter mozzies inside and out. Try eucalyptus, lavender and lemongrass. He revealed that the rodents find mint "very offensive" because of its very strong smell. Therefore, to help deter rats you can plant some mint plants in your flower beds. You can pick up a mint plant from Asda for just £1. And if stray cats keep pooing in your garden, TikToker Becky revealed her tried and tested method for keeping them at bay. She said: "Here's my number one tip if you, like us, have issues with neighbouring cats trying to use your lovely planters or pots as a blooming litter tray. 'Coffee grounds!" "Apparently, the cats don't like the smell", she explained.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Aviation expert questions ‘missing seconds' in Air India disaster report with timestamps that ‘don't match up'
An aviation expert has demanded answers over the unexplained 10 seconds before the tragic Air India crash that killed 260 people, saying: 'The timestamps just don't match up.' A preliminary report into the tragedy revealed that before the crash, two fuel switches - which are used to start or shut down the engines and are typically left on during flight - were moved from 'Run' to 'Cutoff', depriving the engines of fuel. The report also revealed there had been confusion in the cabin when Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and his co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, realised the fault, before desperate attempts were made to flick them back. In an inteview with Piers Morgan on his YouTube show Uncensored, Captain Kishore Chinta - a military aviator and former air accident investigator - said that unexplained actions and delays during a 10-second window after takeoff are central to understanding what went wrong with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. He said: 'The timestamps just don't match up. And if it took one second to put out both the switches quickly, why did it take four seconds to put them back on?' 'Practically, whatever happened, happened in the first 10 seconds from the lift off. The timestamp doesn't match up', Chinta added. The doomed aircraft took off at 8:08:39 seconds in Ahmedebad for its journey to London. About three seconds later, the jet with 242 people on board reached its maximum recorded airspeed. But within the space of just one second, both of the plane's engine fuel switches turned off from its run positions. In addition, the report did not reveal any further conversation between the two pilots during in the moments before the disaster. It would take another 10 seconds before the first fuel switch was moved back to its run position, and another four seconds after that for the second switch to snap back, according to a sequence laid out in the official preliminary report on the fatal crash. Following the preliminary report, questions have been raised over the intentions of the pilot of the Air India plane Captain Sabharwal, with some commentators believing the commercial flight was brought down deliberately. The veteran aviator, who had more than 8,200 hours in the cockpit, is being looked into by investigators over suggestions he turned off the plane's fuel switches, causing it to lose power. But Captain Chinta blasted this theory and said: 'We're doing gross injustice to the pilots who are not there to defend themselves by guestimating and coming up with theories which are mere assumptions.' He added the key to solving the mystery of the doomed flight could lie with the fuel cut off switches and whether they can be turned off in any other way than manually. 'Those fuel switches went to cut off but the report doesn't mention anywhere that those, physically, those switches moved. That is what is the key to the entire theory. So, those switches, moved? We do not know. Yes, those shut off the fuel supply, which caused the engines to lose power? Yes. Why that happened, we do not know right now'. Internet star Captain Steve, joined in on the conversation with Piers Morgan and revealed that he believes one of the pilots was behind the crash. Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off, a preliminary report revealed Hoorifying footage showed the moment the plane crashed, with a massive fireball erupting in the horizon 'The only answer that really fits all of the parameters is that the fuel control switches, as they say in the report, transitioned from run to cut off. 'But that doesn't happen without human intervention, and anybody that operates those switches knows that they are spring-loaded into position. They have a detent to hold them there. They don't vibrate out of position. That's never happened…The only way you can move those switches is to put a hand on them and move them back and then move them back up.' But he has also called for more transparency. 'You know, what would solve all this Piers, would be if the people who wrote this report got in front of a camera and behind a microphone,' he said. Ed Pierson, Executive Director & Foundation for Aviation Safety and former Boeing worker, told Piers Morgan Uncensored that before concluding it was the pilot's fault all the possible system errors should be considered. 'There's a lot of things that need to be examined here, systems wise, before we again jump to the conclusion that this was a pilot making a mistake or even intentionally.' The doomed Air India flight crashed last month and killed 260 people. It had set off for London at 1:38pm and remained airborne for about 30 seconds before losing power and falling to the ground. Upon impact, it was engulfed by a huge fireball, claiming the lives of all but one person on board. Sources close to the investigation believe recordings of the conversation from the Boeing's black box support the view that the captain cut the flow of fuel to the plane's engines. Friends and colleagues also reject the idea Sabharwal was responsible, claiming he was a 'gentle soul' and an 'ace pilot' who had never been involved in any major incident prior to the crash. Neil Pais, 61, a former colleague of Sabharwal, told The Telegraph he was 'one of the nicest people you could ever hope to fly with'. 'He had absolutely no airs about himself, so humble, so respectful. Always a smile when he spoke to you,' he added. 'I never once saw him raise his voice or lose his temper. And yet he never compromised on work or safety. If there was an issue, he'd point it out, but always in the nicest possible way.' Another colleague and close friend, Captain Kapil Kohal, said Sabharwal was a 'hero' with a 'gentle soul'. Despite his nickname of 'Sad Sack', given because of his 'melancholic eyes', Sabharwal was 'deeply charismatic and always ready to help,' he added. A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident' But the sadness noticed by his peers was resultant of a deeper tragedy. Sabharwal had struggled to come to terms with the death of his mother in 2022 and in the wake of her passing had separated from his wife and moved from Delhi to Mumbai, to be closer to his elderly father, Pushkaraj. Investigations into the tragic crash have reportedly begun to analyse Sabharwal's behaviour after 'several' Air India pilots allegedly confirmed he suffered from poor mental health. He is understood to have taken bereavement leave after his mother's death. Although it is believed that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash. Friends also revealed Sabharwal had considered retiring as a pilot to help care for his 90-year-old father full time.
