Foodies vow never to eat crab sticks again after finding out how they're made

Crab sticks dipped in Marie Rose sauce can make a delicious and satisfying snack, albeit a little retro. But people are only just realising how they're actually made, and they've been left put off the food for life, saying that they're "disgusting". Trending Updates on YouTube shared a video explaining the process, saying that the person who invented crab sticks is "truly a genius".

They then shared the mortifying bombshell with viewers, asking: "But did you know that crab sticks don't actually contain any crab meat?" The video then takes people "behind the scenes" to show the "whole process" of crab sticks being made - from "raw materials, to the finished product".

The voiceover explained: "The main ingredient for making crab sticks is frozen firm pollock fish. This type of fish is abundant, easy to catch, and has a delicious flavour.

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"To give the crab sticks a tender and chewy texture, factories add a generous amount of ice cubes to the mixing machine to replace moisture.

"During the mixing process, workers also add various seasonings such as white sugar, edible salt, and other flavourings to enhance the taste of the crab sticks".

All seems fairly reasonable so far, right? But the next part of the video showed a grey, sludge-like item coming out of the machinery, and people were grossed out.

"Once the mixing is complete, the soft and smooth fish paste is pumped through the outlet to another piece of equipment. To maintain the desired texture, the air trapped in the fish pate is continuously squeezed out through stirring," he explained.

The fish paste is then "conveyed through a pipeline to another machine where it is extruded into evenly wide strips".

These strips are subsequently rolled up and "sent to another machine," which mimics the colour of "real crab legs" to make it look more like its namesake.

He said: "The factory wraps the crab sticks in a thin film which contains edible colouring, and finally, a cutting machine slices the crab sticks into evenly sized, elongated strips. Then, these delicious crab sticks are ready for sale".

In the comments of the video, someone pointed out that they should "rename them fish sticks," as it would be a more accurate description.

However, would you be more tempted to eat crab sticks, or fish sticks? Likely crab, right?

Although someone disagreed, saying: "Crab sticks sound absolutely disgusting".

Somebody likened it to a "fish hot dog," with someone else saying that it looked like they were making an "industrial building material" rather than any type of food.

"Crab Sticks taste disgusting. After seeing this, I understand why," one man seethed.

So, would you still eat crab sticks after knowing how they're made? Let us know in the comments...