Beware “langostino lobster“! it’s an impostor to the real thing! Now, the Food and Drug Administration has been asked to yank approval for restaurants to market the product as lobster on their menus.
“Langostino is not lobster, nor should it be marketed as such,” Snowe wrote to FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach. Langostino is Spanish for prawn, but the langostino is actually a pelagic crab. To serve it up as lobster is an insult to the lobster industry.The issue came to light after a California-based restaurant chain, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill, was sued last year by customers for using the less expensive langostino instead of lobster in its “lobster burrito.”The case was settled in April with no admission of wrongdoing by Rubio’s. As part of the settlement, the Food and Drug Administration sanctioned the use of the term “langostino lobster” for the South American variety of langostino. But how can you call it “langostino lobster” if the product is mashed crab meat? Some seafood lovers might question what all the fuss is about, but the Lobster Promotion Council says it’s all about giving consumers what they’re paying for. It contends langostinos have cost seafood fishermen $44 million in lost sales to restaurant chains since April.
Some restaurants, such as Long John Silver’s and Red Lobster, have marketed langostinos as “langostino lobster,” different than Maine lobster but seafood nonetheless. Long John Silver’s introduced “Buttered seafood Bites,” last year which were made with langostino lobster. The chain marketed the limited-time seafood as being for people who “crave the taste of lobster, but they don’t have $20 to spend.” But at the cost of their trust in the company.