. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. equivalent to hanging an "out of business" sign on the door of any of North Carolina's 42 crab houses. Ever mindful of the threat from this ubiquitous bacteria, processors are careful with their crab meat, in some cases choosing to pasteurize their products instead of selling them fresh. Although many of Shellfish Sanitation's regulations are designed to protect the public, some producers say the tight controls are doing more than limiting health hazards. They're also limiting expansion of the in
. Coast watch. Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology. equivalent to hanging an "out of business" sign on the door of any of North Carolina's 42 crab houses. Ever mindful of the threat from this ubiquitous bacteria, processors are careful with their crab meat, in some cases choosing to pasteurize their products instead of selling them fresh. Although many of Shellfish Sanitation's regulations are designed to protect the public, some producers say the tight controls are doing more than limiting health hazards. They're also limiting expansion of the indus- try. Under present regulations, Shellfish Sanitation does not allow blue crab processors in North Carolina to repack crab meat. This minimizes handling that might introduce safety problems. But processors say the risks are minimal and rewards could be bountiful. If permitted to do so, large processors could buy crab meat from small processors, Stephenson says. Then they could repack it and either pasteurize or freeze it to sell in the off- season. Holding the meat would eliminate seasonal gluts, boost wholesale prices for all processors and allow large producers the ability to supply big- dollar buyers such as supermarket and restaurant chains. Other states already allow repacking, putting Tar Heel producers at a disadvantage. In a meeting between industry producers and Shellfish Sanitation in March, processors asked officials to rescind the repacking regulation. Officials are considering the repeal. Other regulations under consider- ation include a requirement for tamper-evident packaging to reduce the potential for fraud once the crab containers leave the processing plant. Stephenson says such packaging could add 4 to 5 cents to each pound of crab meat sold. But he has no objections to the regulation as long as North Carolina processors aren't the only ones having to use such pack- ages. Despite an injection of new technology and a fresh look at old regulations, crab pro
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