Imitation crab is mainly made from surimi, which is a paste made by finely shredding or pulverizing white fish such as Alaska pollock, cod, or haddock. The fish is carefully cleaned, deboned, and minced into a paste. This surimi paste is then mixed with binding ingredients like starch (wheat, potato, or tapioca starch), egg whites, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, and sometimes other additives to give it a firm, elastic texture and flavor similar to real crab meat. Crab flavoring (often artificial) and colorings in shades of orange and red are added to imitate the look and taste of real crab leg meat. The mixture is shaped into sticks or rods, cooked, pasteurized to lock in flavor and ensure safety, then vacuum-sealed for freshness before packaging. This process was invented in Japan in the 1970s and the product is commonly known as kanikama or crab sticks worldwide.