Of course, crab lasts for a shorter period of time if it is not stored properly. Crabs, like a lot of other proteins, may have a use by date and this date should be fairly accurate as to when to safely use up any remaining crab.

How to tell if Crab is bad, rotten or spoiled?

Practicing proper hygiene and food safety techniques will help prevent foodborne illness.

Crab should smell fresh like the sea. Only purchase whole crabs that are either still completely alive or cooked. A cooked crab of any type should have a shell that is some shade of red in color (yes, even blue crabs). Never buy a dead crab because they release enzymes that turn their meat to mush when they die.

Older crab will begin to smell and to build a sticky or milky substance around itself. The white meat will begin to turn a blue or grey color. The flavor will be off if any of these spoiled symptoms exist, so it is not advised to taste crab with these qualities.

There are, of course, certain health risks associated with spoiled foods so always remember to practice food safety and enjoy your foods before their shelf life has expired!

How to store Crab to extend its shelf life?

Crab must be kept cold at all times. Store crab in a 35-40 degree Fahrenheit refrigerator or in an ice chest with ice. If they are alive, also keep them moist.

Freezing is NOT an option for crab. The moisture separates from the meat when frozen crabs are thawed, making the crabmeat an undesired straw consistency. The exception to this is crab cakes and imitation crab, these two types of crab can be successfully frozen.

Some benefits of proper food storage include eating healthier, cutting food costs and helping the environment by avoiding waste.

Interesting facts about Crab:

To extract the most flavor from crab, steaming is the best cooking option.

Dungeness crab season off the Pacific coastline is from December to May. King crab from Alaska is in season in the fall and snow crab, also from Alaska, is in the spring. Soft shell crab (summer), rock crab (fall) and stone crab (winter) are found in the Atlantic ocean.

How long is Crab good for when prepared in a dish?

How long does crab last? That depends. How long does butter last? In general, foods last only as long as the quickest expiring ingredient in the dish.

What are our shelf life resources?

In determining how long Crab lasts, our content incorporates research from multiple resources, including the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Food & Drug Administration. In addition, we scoured the web for informative articles and reports related to food safety, food storage and the shelf life of Crab.

*An important note about expiration dates...

Although the Crab shelf life information on Eat By Date is generally reliable, please remember that individual cases will vary and that our advice should only be taken as an opinion and not a replacement for your health care professional. Please eat responsibly!