Cold-water prawn is graded on count: the number of pieces in a kilogram. It is a good system — it describes the thing a buyer actually experiences, which is piece size — but it only works when three other facts travel with it.
The counts
Shell-on, cooked, per kilogram:
| Count | Pieces per kg |
|---|---|
| 60/80 | 60–80 |
| 80/120 | 80–120 |
| 120/180 | 120–180 |
Peeled, cooked, per kilogram:
| Count | Pieces per kg |
|---|---|
| 150/250 | 150–250 |
| 250/350 | 250–350 |
A lower count means larger prawns.
The three facts that must travel with it
1. Shell-on or peeled. This is the one that causes the most trouble. The same prawns counted with their shells on and counted peeled land in entirely different bands — peeling removes a substantial proportion of the piece weight. “80/120” without a form attached is ambiguous.
2. Cooked or raw. Cold-water prawn is usually traded cooked, but “usually” is not a specification.
3. The weight the count refers to. Per kilogram of what? For brined product, count relates to drained weight. For IQF product, to net-of-glaze weight. For dry pack, to net weight. Say which.
Weight basis by pack type
In brine. The commercial weight is the drained weight, not the gross weight of the filled pail. Our own prawn articles are packed in 1.5 kg pails; the drained weight and the brine percentage are the numbers to contract on.
IQF. Glaze applies. Price against net of glaze and state the maximum percentage. See how to specify seafood glazing.
Dry pack. Net weight, with no brine or glaze deduction — but confirm there genuinely is no glaze rather than assuming it.
Peeling method
Where the distinction matters to your product — visible piece integrity, for example — specify hand peeled or machine peeled. They produce different-looking prawns and are priced differently.
Melanosis
Black spot is an enzymatic discolouration that can develop in crustaceans after capture. Specify the tolerance, and ask whether any treatment has been applied, because treatments carry labelling obligations in most destination markets. This is a declaration question as much as a quality one.
A complete line
Cold-water prawn (Pandalus borealis), cooked, peeled, 250/350 count per kg on drained weight, in brine, 1.5 kg pail, brine percentage to be stated, melanosis tolerance [x], any treatment to be declared.