Live Crabs Sold As Snacks For Commuters

Commuters in China are being offered a supposedly healthy alternative to crisps and chocolates from underground vending machines - hairy crabs that are meant to be eaten while still alive. The Dazha hairy crab, a popular delicacy in the southeastern province of Jiangsu, is on sale in three different sizes in the province capital of Nanjing. Prices for the small, medium or large crabs range from the equivalent of £1.50 to £5.00. The crabs are packed into custom-fitted plastic boxes and chilled to 5C, leaving them sedated but still alive. If a customer gets a dead one, he or she will get three live ones for free. "The customers were a bit sceptical at first as they were worried if the crabs were alive or not," Wu Zhendi, general manager of the Twin Lake Crab Co, told reporters. "But now they see they are alive, they keep coming back."We are selling hundreds each day, and more at weekends." The company now plans to expand its business and is even thinking of trying out sales in Japan, where vending machines are big subway business.