Are Maryland Crab Cakes Made With Imported Crab Meat?

Investigation into Crab Cake Ingredients

• 🦀 Maryland crab cakes are an iconic dish, with many believing they are made exclusively from local Maryland blue crab.
• 💡 Insiders suggest some Baltimore restaurants use a mishmash of crab meat imported from overseas to reduce costs.

Inside Edition's Investigation

• 🍽️ Inside Edition ordered crab cakes from five popular Baltimore seafood eateries and asked servers about the crab's origin; all claimed it was from Maryland.
• 🔬 Samples were sent to an independent lab for DNA analysis to verify the crab species.

Lab Results and Restaurant Responses

• 🧪 Lab results indicated that two out of five crab cake samples contained swimming crab species not native to U.S. waters, suggesting imported crab from Asia and Africa.
• 🗣️ One restaurant owner admitted to using imported crab, stating that demand outstrips local supply and that they inform customers if asked, while also claiming most restaurants don't exclusively use Maryland blue crab.
• 💬 Another restaurant owner disagreed, asserting that it's possible to serve Maryland crab meat year-round and emphasizing the importance of transparency with customers.

Findings on Crab Origin

• ✅ Fortunately, lab tests confirmed that three out of the five tested restaurants did use actual Maryland blue crabs in their crab cakes.
• 💰 The investigation highlights a discrepancy between customer expectations and the actual ingredients used in some establishments, driven by cost-saving measures.