Shrimp count size: how to prove you got what you paid for

A shrimp count size is a range of pieces per unit of weight, and the only way to check it is to count the shrimp in one kilo of net deglazed weight. A 31/40 per pound (453.6 g) should give 68 to 88 pieces per net kilo. That means the largest piece in a lot can weigh up to 29% more than the smallest. I see far too many container deliveries where nobody checks the count size at all, or checks it on gross weight, which proves nothing.

This article starts with the technical question (what a count size guarantees and what it leaves open). It then walks through the test I recommend at receiving, and ends with the specification clauses that make that test enforceable against the processing plant. It is written for whoever signs the order for a 20ft container, not for someone buying a bag off the supermarket shelf.

What a count size guarantees, and what it leaves open

A shrimp count size is a range for the number of pieces per unit of weight: the lower the number, the heavier the piece. It guarantees neither a precise unit weight nor uniformity, only that the count falls between two limits. According to a-la-fine-maree.fr, a 16/20 means 16 to 20 shrimp per 450 g, or 35 to 44 per kilo.

All four videos on the Demander Et Répondre channel hammer home the same inverse rule, and rightly so: an 8/12 gives huge pieces, a 60/80 tiny shrimp. They are aimed at consumers and stop there. For a container buyer, the useful question starts after that: what exactly sits inside the range?

Why can a count range hide up to a 29% weight spread?

Because a count size is bounded by two counts, and the ratio between those two limits gives the weight gap between the lightest and heaviest piece. A 31/40 runs from 14.6 g down to 11.3 g per piece, a ratio of 1.29. A 26/30 is much tighter at 15%.

The table below covers five common grades, calculated on 1 pound = 453.6 g.

The 31/40 is the grade with the loosest range. It is also the one foodservice buys most, and therefore the one buyers check least.

Does the count size tell you how much meat you get?

No, and the sources contradict each other here. Two Demander Et Répondre videos claim that half the weight of a whole shrimp goes with the shell, while a-la-fine-maree.fr puts the shell at 30 to 40% of total weight and cooking loss at 20 to 25%.

My view: none of these figures belongs in a contract, because they vary with species, head-on or head-off, and lot. Yield is measured on the sample, using the same method as the count. The count size applies to the product as sold, so a 16/20 PDTO piece comes from a bigger whole shrimp than a 16/20 HOSO piece, as explained in count size by product format.

Why counting on gross weight skews the verdict

A count must be done on net deglazed weight, meaning without the protective ice glaze. Counting on the gross weight of the carton artificially lowers the number of pieces per kilo and lets an undersized lot pass as compliant.

A worked example makes the point. Say you order a lot in 31/40 per pound, so 68 to 88 pieces per net kilo. It actually arrives as 45/50, so 99 to 110 pieces per net kilo, which is out of spec. With 20% glaze, 1 kg gross holds only 800 g of shrimp, and the count drops to 79 to 88 pieces: inside the range you ordered. The out-of-spec lot passes the test.

Which glaze figure should you use in the calculation?

The one written into your contract, never the one quoted to you verbally. One of the videos mentions glazing that can reach 30% of total weight, and advises relying on the net drained weight on the packaging. I agree in principle and go further: I don't sign an order without a numerical glaze cap and a written deglazing method. The full price calculation is in shrimp glaze rates.

Phosphates also distort the count. The site restaurant-laccostage-ouistreham.fr points out that farmed white shrimp are often treated with sodium phosphate, an additive that limits water loss and so bulks up the weight. A soaked shrimp weighs more than the same untreated shrimp, and the apparent count size shifts.

The receiving count protocol I recommend

The protocol has five steps and can be applied to a carton pulled from a container opened at Le Havre or Antwerp: sample, deglaze, drain, weigh, count. It takes about twenty minutes per carton and fits in a few lines of the contract, which is what makes it enforceable.

1. Sample at least one carton per pallet, from several tiers, before any of the rest of the lot is thawed.
2. Weigh the gross carton, then the inner bag, to establish the declared glaze.
3. Deglaze under cold running water, without soaking, until the ice is gone.
4. Drain for a fixed time (for example 2 minutes on a tilted sieve), then weigh: this is the net drained weight.
5. Count the whole pieces and scale the total to 1 kg, then separately weigh broken pieces and pieces outside the range.

What tolerance should you accept before raising a dispute?

Tolerance is negotiated before the order, not at receiving. In practice I suggest a margin on the range limits (for example 5% of pieces out of size across the lot) and a separate threshold for broken pieces, the broken count, explained in the article on reading count sizes.

The exact figures have to be agreed with the plant, because they depend on format and price. What isn't negotiable is that they are in writing.

Does the SIVEP inspection check count size?

No. The veterinary inspection at the border control post covers the container's sanitary and documentary compliance, not the commercial count range, as detailed in SIVEP inspection at Le Havre. Nobody but you is going to count your shrimp.

What to write into your product specification

A count size is only enforceable if it is written with its unit, reference weight, tolerance and counting method. The Codex Stan 92 standard for quick-frozen shrimps and prawns, published by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius, covers grading and glazing, but it doesn't replace your own clause: only the contract settles a dispute with the plant.

Here are the lines I ask the plant to sign off on, with example values to adjust:

• Count size: 31/40 per pound (453.6 g), i.e. 68 to 88 pieces per kg net drained.
• Counting basis: net weight after deglazing, never the gross carton weight.
• Glaze: 20% maximum declared, with deglazing method and draining time specified.
• Tolerance: out-of-range and broken pieces capped as a percentage of net weight.
• Inspection: one carton per pallet counted at receiving, report attached, remedy defined.

The impact on an order is concrete. On a container, an undeclared 20% glaze costs you 20% of the shrimp price, and an out-of-range lot can only be rejected if the clause exists. Cost per piece is broken down in portion cost by count size and glaze. To compare offers on a like-for-like basis, a FOB quote by count size within 48 hours is only meaningful if the unit, glaze and tolerance are identical across suppliers. These clauses apply to a 20ft container volume (MOQ 1×20' FCL, mixed SKUs possible), not to buying by the case.

On emg-seafood.fr, my Search Console data for the 30 days to September 2026 shows 410 impressions and 4 clicks for the size chart from U10 to 80/100. So people are mostly looking for the conversion chart. Few pages explain how to verify it, and that is the gap this protocol fills.

Verdict: prove count size with a net count, and build it into supplier approval

You prove a count size by counting the pieces in one kilo of net deglazed weight, and I recommend building this test into the approval of every imported shrimp product. Without numerical clauses on glaze and tolerance, the test is a warning sign, not a remedy.

Should you require a single count size per product?

Yes for grades with a wide range, such as 31/40: you are better off ordering 31/35 or 36/40 if the plant can grade more tightly, even at a small premium. For a first container, I would start with a 26/30 or a 21/25, which have tighter ranges, and have every pallet counted.

Avoid: any order without a numerical glaze figure. Test: the count on a first container before rolling it out.