The CrustaStun is a device designed to administer a lethal electric shock to shellfish (such as lobsters, crabs, and crayfish) before cooking. This is marketed as a more humane alternative to boiling a live shellfish. The CrustaStun design consists of a stainless-steel box approximately the size of a domestic microwave oven containing a tray with a wet sponge and an electrode. The shellfish is placed in the box and, upon the lid's closure, the wet sponge conducts the current which electrocutes the animal with a 120 volt, 2–5 amp current. It is claimed that the CrustaStun renders the shellfish unconscious in 0.3 seconds and kills the animal in 5 to 10 seconds, compared to claims made that it takes the 3 minutes it takes to kill a lobster via boiling or the 4.5 minutes for a crab. However, the source for the claim states that death occurs much more quickly during boiling; in crabs, by about 10 seconds. Movements detected after this period were attributed to heat's effect on the muscles or escape of air from the branchial chambers, not voluntary movements.
The inventor, Simon Buckhaven, spent two years developing the device with scientists from the University of Bristol. The device was manufactured in England at an estimated cost of £2,500, in 2009.
Major supermarkets in the United Kingdom have insisted that all shellfish products supplied to them be killed using this method, as there are claims that shellfish killed with the CrustaStun taste better than those killed by boiling.
See also
References
- McSmith, A. (November 21, 2009). "I'll have my lobster electrocuted, please". London: The Independent (Newspaper). Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- Baker, John R. "Experiments on the humane killing of crabs." Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 34.1 (1955): 15-24.
- Griffiths, G.; White, M. "Selective Seafoods; Freshly Prepared Crabs, Lobsters and other Locally Produced Seafoods". Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
- Dominic Kennedy (July 26, 2014). "Crustacean liberation: chefs blanch at boiling crabs and lobsters alive". The Times. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
Further reading
- Original producer's website (archived of)
- Mitchell & Cooper, current producer's product listing
- BBC article on the device and its inventor
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