Mitchell & Cooper, an established UK manufacturer of foodservice equipment since 1879, has welcomed the Government’s latest Animal Welfare Strategy announcement that legislates against the inhumane act of boiling lobsters and crabs alive, in recognition of crustacean sentience.
Kat Cooper, Project Director at Mitchell & Cooper, believes that the new legislation is long overdue: “We commend Defra’s leadership in advancing animal welfare and applaud its readiness to acknowledge crustacean sentience. Mitchell & Cooper highlighted the issues around boiling crustaceans over 7 years ago and committed to pioneering a superior option that renders lobsters and crabs insensible in under 0.5 seconds and dispatches them in under 10 seconds. Today, our British manufactured Crustastun, from Bonzer®, is a world-leading electro-stunning device that targets the neural centres of lobster, crabs and crayfish to eliminate suffering and provide a humane, consistent and reliable alternative to both boiling and skill-dependent methods like split-venting. It has already been adopted by leading restaurants, hotels, seafood processors, fishmongers, retailers and Michelin kitchens around the world.
Defra’s announcement aligns closely with our own pioneering efforts and we would like to thank organisations such as Crustacean Compassion the SAGB, Chefs forum, Supermarkets and high profile chefs. who have campaigned to validate electrical stunning as a more humane, repeatable, and operationally robust method for crustacean dispatch. We look forward to working with the industry as they adopt higher welfare standards.”
The Bonzer Crustastun isn’t just compassionate, it also enhances food quality, improves texture and flavour, and extends shelf life by killing harmful bacteria, allowing safe storage for up to 48 hours. Its user-friendly design requires no specialist training and fits neatly into busy kitchens, providing staff with a fast, efficient, and ethical method for dispatching crustaceans. The Crustastun features a compact, countertop design and is both quick and easy to use, utilising a simple two button operating interface. With no special skills or training required to operate the appliance, kitchens can work with increased flexibility and staffing.
Mitchell & Cooper manufactures the Crustastun and other industry-leading solutions under the renowned Bonzer® brand—a hallmark of British engineering and hospitality innovation for over 100 years. At Bonzer®, design is a direct reflection of our core values. Every concept, sketch, and prototype must embody these five principles through its materials, form, and purpose:
For more information on the Crustastun, please visit www.mitchellcooper.co.uk/why-crustastun.
