Phillips Foods sells crab meat 12 cans per case to our distributors & seafood wholesalers. In some cases, an operator may be able to purchase a broken case from their distributor. Please inquire with your supplier.

Phillips Crab Meat has a refrigerated shelf life of 18 months from the date of production with proper handling and temperature control. Refer to the bottom of the crab meat can for the expiration date; it will be written in Month/Day/Year format. Please remember that without proper temperature treatment, the product will not be able to reach its intended shelf life.

Once opened, please use within 48 hours to ensure a safe, high quality product. Crab meat should be handled with the same care given fresh seafood; please keep under constant refrigeration (38 degrees F or below).

No – Crab meat color varies by region of the world. It tends to have a bright white sheen when sourced from Asia. Some have thought that the ingredient SAPP was used for coloration purposes, but it is used to prevent the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphates (struvite crystals)

Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (SAPP) is an additive used to prevent the formation of struvite crystals (small, gritty particles) during the pasteurization process. SAPP is a man-made product from naturally occurring elements. It is not an allergen and is on the U.S. government list of G.R.A.S. (Generally Recognized as Safe) products. We add the SAPP as recommended by the Seafood Pasteurization and Minimal Processing Manual, which is written by Sea Grant, a U.S. government funded program.

It is virtually shell free – we use a black light picking process that enables us to pick virtually every shell.

We strongly recommend that you do not freeze the product, as freezing will compromise the delicate flavor and texture of the meat. One of the benefits of Phillips` pasteurization process is that it gives the product an extended refrigerated shelf life, allowing chefs more time to use the product without having to worry about quick spoiling. If you must freeze the product, we recommend that you first put it into a prepared form, such as crab cakes or crab soup; this will help to minimize the effects of the freezing on the texture and taste of the crab meat.

When you use Phillips crab meat you are buying a product that has been produced under the strictest quality control. We put safety first, and quality comes naturally. By pasteurizing the crab meat, we also extend shelf life. This makes it easy to keep crab meat on hand when you are ready to make your crab cakes.

Our 50 years of restaurant experience have helped us identify what’s important to chefs and operators; our products address key issues such as labor cost, inventory, product consistency and food safety. At Phillips, we stand out from the competition by putting our crab meat through a rigorous quality control process. If it isn’t up to Phillips’ standards, it doesn’t carry the Phillips brand name.

Most of our crab cakes can be baked, broiled, fried or sautéed. Check the master carton for specific crab cake cooking methods.

We’ve enhanced our recipe to make our famous crab cakes even more deliciously light, fluffy and moist regardless of the cooking process. We recognized that our operators have a choice between bake, broil, fry or sauté, and we needed a cake that browned and remained moist in each of these circumstances. We have perfected the production process so the wet mix expands and captures moisture when you cook.

Phillips fish is frozen at the height of freshness using flash freeze technology.

Tuna has a natural tendency to brown when exposed to air and we use the CO to retain the original color.

Our tuna is FDA graded to be able to consume raw without risk of problems from parasites. The industry or culinary term for that is "Sushi Grade". We use premium graded ahi (Yellowfin Tuna) from sustainable fisheries.

We offer either exact cuts or range cuts on different species.Please contact either your distributor or Customer service for further details and availability.

We cannot deliver orders within the same week unless it is within the Mid- Atlantic area. All other orders ship LTL on Fridays from our Baltimore facility. Phillips ordering policy requires the following lead time in advance of a Friday Ship date:
For crab meat and fish-3 business days
For value added products-10 business days

We can ship product overnight provided we receive a PO prior to Noon that day. The customer will be responsible for all overnight shipping charges.

The crabmeat has an expiration date on both the case and the cans. For all other products, you will find an expiration date or a production code which would indicate the date the product was produced.

We use the Julian code system. The first 3 digits represent the day of the year, 4th digit is the year, and the 5th digit represents the batch number.

Phillips is actively working to protect the crab resources both in Maryland, and in Asia which is the source of the majority of crab meat. We are proud of what has been accomplished so far, but recognize that more needs to be done and we are providing leadership to make this happen.

In 2007 Phillips started an Aquaculture and Sustainability Division. This Division has the responsibility of researching and pursuing sustainable seafood used in our restaurants and manufacturing plants.

In the Chesapeake Bay region, where Phillips has its roots, we are supporters of the Crab Restoration and the Bay (CRAB) program. We have provided more than $500,000 in cash to the University of Maryland Biotech Center spearheading this effort. Over 50,000 baby crabs have been released into the Bay as a result of this program.

Phillips works in a number of countries in Asia where crabs are abundant and where we have processing plants that produce much of our crab meat. In both Indonesia and the Philippines we have provided leadership and financial resources to start crab associations organized around sustainability. These associations are made up of the crab exporting companies in these countries, and they are funding research, educational programs and grass roots programs focused on resource management. They are also working with the national and regional governments to establish science-based regulations for the crab fishery. more