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Langostino is a word ofSpanish origin commonly applied to various types ofcrustacean. “Langostino” is the Spanish diminutive oflangosta (spiny lobster), which comes from the Latin forlocust.[1]
In the United States, it is commonly used in the restaurant trade to refer to the meat ofsquat lobsters, which are not truelobsters but are more closely related toporcelain andhermit crabs. Also, langostinos are sometimes confused withNorway lobster, also called langoustines.[2] In the US, theFood and Drug Administration allows "langostino" to be used as a market name for three species of squat lobster in the familyGalatheidae:Cervimunida johni,Munida gregaria, andPleuroncodes monodon.[3]
In Spain and Venezuela, it means some species ofprawns.[4] In Cuba and other Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands, the name langostino is also used to refer tocrayfish, which are freshwater species. In Argentina the name is used to refer toPleoticus muelleri, a kind of shrimp, while in Chile and Peru it refers toPleuroncodes monodon.
In March 2006,Long John Silver's garnered controversy by offering a dish they called "Buttered Lobster Bites" without making it clear in its advertising that these were made from "langostino lobster."[5] TheFederal Trade Commission launched an investigation into deceptive advertising practices by the chain, becauseFood and Drug Administration regulations require that anyone marketing langostino as lobster must place the qualifier "langostino" adjacent to the word "lobster," and Long John Silver's not only failed to do this, but ran a television commercial making use of an American lobster in a manner that the commission concluded was contributing to the misperception that the product was American lobster.[6]
Upon being contacted by the commission, Long John Silver's promptly terminated the television commercial campaigns, revised its website, and committed both to prominently placing the word "langostino" adjacent to the term "lobster" in all future advertising, and to revising its existing in-store materials accordingly within eight weeks, and on June 24, 2009, the commission wrote to the chain to inform them that they had no intention of taking further action at that time.[6]
Rubio's Restaurants, Inc., settled a 2006 class-action lawsuit for selling "lobster burritos" and "lobster tacos" that were in fact made with squat lobster.[7] The company agreed to change the name to "langostino lobster".[8][9]
In February 2016,Red Lobster was revealed to have been using a mix of lobster and less-expensive langostino for its lobster bisque.[10]
A 2016 study of American restaurants tested the “lobster” served and found that many were in fact langostino or seafood that were not spiny lobsters.[11]
The dictionary definition oflangostino at Wiktionary