Frozen Scallop Supplier: Adductor Meat and Half-Shell by Count

Product overview

Scallops are bought on three things: species, count and how much water is in the meat. A dry-packed 10/20 adductor from cold water and a phosphate-soaked meat of the same size can look alike in the carton yet behave very differently in a hot pan, so each offer we send names the species, the count per pound or kilogram, the glaze percentage and whether any moisture-retaining treatment was used. A buyer comparing three quotations is then comparing the same product, and a chef knows before the first case is opened whether the meat will sear or simply release water.

The core species is the Japanese or Yesso scallop (Mizuhopecten yessoensis), seabed-ranched or hanging-cultured in northern Japan and also farmed in China and Korea. Alongside it sits the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) from the offshore banks of the North-West Atlantic, a large, sweet adductor traded mostly in the bigger counts. Peruvian scallop (Argopecten purpuratus), farmed in Peru and Chile, is often sold roe-on, with the orange coral left attached. The small Patagonian scallop (Zygochlamys patagonica) from Argentina, suited to IQF volume packs, and Chinese-farmed bay scallop (Argopecten irradians) are available on request. From Southeast Asia comes the wild-caught Asian moon scallop (Amusium pleuronectes), a thin-shelled species usually traded as roe-off adductor meat.

Formats run from raw, roe-off IQF adductor meat to roe-on meat, frozen half-shell scallops packed in interleaved trays, and whole scallops boiled in the shell for buffets and hot pot. Japanese packers usually grade adductors by pieces per kilogram under letter codes, while Atlantic and South American meat is traded by count per pound, from U/10 through 10/20 and 20/30 down to 60/80. Before shipment, each lot is checked for count accuracy, glaze, broken or split meats, sand in roe-on product and shell fragments. Chilled adductor meat can be flown on short routes where the shelf life leaves time for sale.

Biotoxins collect mainly in a scallop’s digestive gland rather than its adductor muscle, so whole, half-shell and roe-on products call for closer attention to harvest-area monitoring than clean adductor meat does. Testing for the PSP, ASP and DSP groups and for microbiology is arranged to your destination’s limits, as described on our export quality assurance page. For stocks and braises that need a concentrated flavor, the dried form is covered under dried scallops and conpoy, and every shellfish line we handle is summarized on the frozen and chilled shellfish overview.