The common products of crawfish, Procambarus clarkii obtained in this study include the food products and the commercial products. The former includes the live hard shelled and soft-shelled crawfish and the frozen crawfish (either boiled or uncooked). The Commercial products include live smaller crawfish that can be sold as fish bait or preserved hard shelled specimens which can be used for classroom study, while live ones can be used for experimental study. The third commercial product is the crawfish peeling remains (the exoskeleton and the inedible parts) which may be used as fertilizers or as poultry or fish ration.
Analysis of the peeling remains indicated the presence of high protein content; low lipid contents and a high ash% represented mainly by calcium and phosphorus, together with traces of Mg, Mn, K. Na and Fe. The food products are lively sold or processed in two ways where the whole crawfish is either directly boiled in water for 5 10 minutes or quick- frozen and then thawed. The abdominal meats of both types are hand peeled, then packed and refrigerated. The cooked meat product is basically white with various amounts of red pigmentation on the surface. The uncooked meat product (fresh) is whitish-amber in color. The present work suggests that the most important distribution channels for crawfish in Egypt include the seafood market to consumers, to restaurants, to exportation. Other channels may be opened for crawfish peeling remains to be applied as a fertilizer or as a poultry or fish ration. Also, it can be used in classroom and laboratory as a crustacean model for dissection and experimentation.
Key words: Procambarus clarkii, products, processing and marketing
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