Visitors unlikely to dig into crayfish at park

• Source: Global Times
• [09:13 June 04 2010]
• Comments

An owner of a restaurant selects crayfish to serve to customers Thursday in Huangpu district. Summer is the peak season for crayfish. Photo: Cai Xianmin

By Zhou Ping

Visitors are unlikely to break apart any crayfish for dinner inside the Expo Park as organizers discourage the dish that has long been popularized around the city because it takes too long for people to eat.

The Oriental Morning Post reported Thursday that organizers had announced restrictions on serving the favorite, worried that serving the dish will slow down pavilion-touring visitors.

But crayfish suppliers say the move has unfairly ruled out their chances of drumming up business previously opened to them.

The Xuyi Crayfish Festival Committee, which manages the Jiangsu Province county's annual crayfish celebration that draws crowds of thousands, told the Global Times Thursday that organizers said that only safety-certified raw and processed crayfish can be sold to restaurants inside the park.

But Xuyi crayfish suppliers, which ship 30 tons of crayfish to Shanghai daily between April and October, accounting for 5 percent of their exports, only have the required documents for cooked crayfish, according to a man surnamed Wang with the committee.

Meanwhile, the Xuyi Crayfish Association is reeling from the news.

"We were planning to use the Shanghai Expo to introduce our famous Xuyi crayfish to more people," said Zhao Jianmin, secretary general of the Xuyi Crayfish Association.

At the park, many restaurants said that putting crayfish on their menu is too much of a hassle.

"We might, however, consider applying to purchase crayfish from outside the park to serve to visitors if customers specially request them," Sun Qiang, manager at De Yue Lou Restaurant inside the park, told the Global Times Thursday. "But, something tells me we would be rejected by food inspection authorities; crayfish have the risk of carrying parasites, and that may be deemed unsafe for visitors."

Crayfish lovers, too, agree.

"I love eating crayfish, but serving them at restaurants could attract more flies and mosquitoes to the park," said Yan Weijian. "Besides, I would rather spend my time touring more pavilions than waste my time eating."