Experts skeptical of scam after customer finds steel-like balls inside crab
Experts skeptical of scam after customer finds steel-like balls inside crab
2026-10-13
A Chiayi resident recently brought home a crab to steam. After cracking it open, they discovered 14 shiny objects inside that looked like steel balls. They posted photos online, drawing suspicion that the vendor purposefully added them to increase the weight. But both fishers and experts said that a crab would die if it were stuffed with steel, making the scam near impossible to pull off.
Autumn is the season for enjoying plump, delicious crab, straight from the market. But one crab lover recently found something strange inside their purchase.
After bringing it home to steam, they discovered 14 round objects around the gills and shell resembling small steel balls. The photos drew heated discussion online.
- No, I’ve never seen anything like it. My first thought was that it must be fake.
Hsu Shih-chien
Fisherman
I’ve been fishing for over 60 years. For there to be beads that large inside, they would have had to grow along with the crab. Its mouth is too small. If someone tried to force them in, the crab would have died.
This experienced fisherman noted that it’s anatomically impossible for a crab to swallow steel beads of this size. After seeing the photos, another expert said they could be a natural foreign body, which has been documented in scientific literature.
Hsu Mao-chieh
Dongshi Fish Market merchant
There have been extremely similar cases in the literature, although I’ve never actually seen one in person. Crustaceans have hemocyanin, which contains copper atoms. When the copper atoms are exposed, they can form that grayish-blue color. Still, it’s only something I’ve read about. I’ve never seen an actual specimen. To claim they’re steel balls is impossible.
Although some were suspicious that it was a trick by the vendor to add weight, the low success rate and likelihood of it killing the crab make it unlikely. The debate rages on whether this anomaly is the result of a rare biological mutation or human tampering.
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#crab #seafood #biologicalanomaly #foodsafety #scam #crustacean
增重詐術? 螃蟹裡驚見"14顆小鋼珠" 專家:疑病變異物
2026-10-13
嘉義有民眾買了螃蟹來蒸，剝開蟹殼，竟然發現14顆黑亮圓潤、像是小鋼珠的物體，離奇畫面曝光，攤商被質疑，難道是為了加重螃蟹重量，才故意塞進去嗎？但漁民跟專家都說，螃蟹被塞鋼珠根本活不下來，不可能有這種狀況。
秋天正是螃蟹肥美的季節，不少民眾會到市場買新鮮螃蟹享用，但有位網友，買回家卻碰上這樣離奇的狀況。
一名網友分享，自己買螃蟹回家蒸來吃，卻從蟹鰓和殼裡，挖出總共14顆圓滾滾，像是小鋼珠的物體，放上網路引起熱烈討論。
- 沒有欸，完全沒看過，我第一反應覺得是造假的
[[資深漁民 許世堅]]
“我抓差不多六十年以上了，如果珠子這麼大顆，應該螃蟹要從小，珠子就在裡面生長才有辦法，不然牠嘴巴那麼小，也沒辦法進去，要塞進去，那隻螃蟹就死了”
連老漁民都說，螃蟹生理構造根本吞不下這種鋼珠。而專家看了照片則推測，這黑亮球體，會不會是文獻上曾記載的生物病變異物。
[[東石魚市場承銷人 許貿捷]]
“在文獻上有看過極類似這種情況的，可是真的沒有實際上看過，這種甲殼類就是血藍蛋白，那血藍蛋白裡面是含有銅離子，所以它的銅離子起來，就會變成那種灰藍顏色，可是這是看過而已，沒有真的看到實體，你要說是鋼珠的話，不可能”
雖然也有人懷疑，這會不會是攤商為了"加重螃蟹"，所施的伎倆，但因為成功率不高，又容易導致螃蟹死亡，到底是生物病變的奇特現象，還是人為加工的惡搞？也掀起網友熱烈討論。
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