Vannamei Shrimp Supplier: Whiteleg Shrimp, Raw and Cooked, by Count

Product overview

Vannamei is the workhorse of the frozen shrimp trade: a farmed species with a mild, sweet flavor and a clean white-to-coral color once cooked, produced in enough volume to anchor year-round retail, foodservice and processing programs. Our large shrimp and prawns page deals with the biggest counts, sourced to brief, so this page covers the medium and small grades that make up most standing orders, from 16/20 per pound through 71/90 and the small peeled sizes used in fried rice, salads and ready meals.

The species is Penaeus vannamei, still widely labeled under its older name Litopenaeus vannamei and also known as Pacific white shrimp. It is native to the Pacific coast of Latin America and is now farmed across Asia and the Americas. Thailand remains a significant producer and, just as importantly, a long-established processing base whose plants handle labor-intensive cuts such as nobashi, skewered and cooked shrimp for Japanese, North American and European buyers. Lots from Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Ecuador are offered when a specification or price point calls for them, with the country and farm region declared on each offer, because duties, border testing and the document set all follow the origin.

Head-on shell-on (HOSO) vannamei is graded in pieces per kilogram, typically 20/30 through 80/100, and goes largely to Asian and Middle Eastern buyers who cook it whole. Headless shell-on (HLSO), EZ-peel, peeled undeveined (PUD), peeled and deveined (PD) and peeled tail-on (PDTO) shrimp are usually counted per pound in bands from 16/20 to 71/90, with 91/120 and smaller for PUD. At harvest the shrimp are chilled in ice slurry and taken to the plant promptly, where they are machine-graded, peeled and deveined by hand or machine, then frozen on tunnel or spiral IQF lines and glazed, or block-frozen in 2 kg cartons. Cooked lines pass through continuous steam or boiling cookers and are cooled and frozen in areas kept apart from raw handling. Many peeled lots are soaked in a moisture-retention solution, phosphate-based or non-phosphate, and the agent and its level go on the specification.

On arrival, buyers look first at net weight after deglazing and at count against the declared unit, then at uniformity, broken and soft-shell pieces, black spot on the shell segments, loose heads in HOSO packs, residual vein in PD and the earthy or muddy taste that pond-raised shrimp occasionally carry. Raw vannamei should look grey-white and slightly translucent; a swollen, glossy look, a slippery feel and heavy drip on thawing suggest an aggressive soak. Mid counts suit grilling, stir-fries and pasta, small peeled grades go to ready-meal and processing plants, and cooked PDTO is a retail staple for platters and shrimp rings. The counting and deglazing routine is set out in our frozen shrimp specifications guide, and black tiger shrimp is the alternative when a menu wants a firmer bite and a banded shell.