• Wild-caught small cuttlefish slices — Sepia spp. (commonly Sepia pharaonis), marine cephalopod
• Five-stage dressing — head, viscera, cuttlebone, skin and black spots all removed
• Tube cut vertically into regular slices — even thickness, clean white appearance
• Tray-packed to spec: 500 g / 35 pcs and 700 g / 35 pcs per tray (export-order references)
• Customizable size, net weight and slice thickness on request
• Tender white flesh; no black spotting, no dark epidermal residue
• Wild supply — MSC-applicable; ASC / BAP / GLOBALG.A.P. NOT applicable
• Export base: Guangxi, China
• Strong frozen shelf life when held at unbroken −18 °C

• Ready-to-cook sliced cuttlefish for stir-fries, hotpot and salads
• Foodservice portion packs and plated presentations
• Asian cuisine: quick stir-fry, braise, hotpot dipping
• Retail tray packs for supermarket frozen sections
• Further processing into cuttlefish-ball / cake lines

• MSC — applicable (cuttlefish are wild-caught; confirm the specific fishery certificate for the batch)
• ASC / BAP / GLOBALG.A.P. — NOT applicable (these are aquaculture standards; cuttlefish are not farmed at commercial scale)
• HACCP / BRC / IFS / ISO 22000 — food-safety management systems for processing
• HALAL / KOSHER — available on request
• FDA registration and EU approval available on request

Store at −18 °C or below under an unbroken cold chain. Typical frozen shelf life 18–24 months for well-packed slices held continuously frozen (shorter if the tray is not gas-tight or if temperature fluctuates). Sliced product is thinner than whole tubes, so it is more sensitive to freezer burn — keep trays overwrapped and sealed. Keep frozen until use; thaw under refrigeration and cook thoroughly. Do not refreeze after thawing.

Q1. Is this a squid or octopus, and how do I avoid species substitution? A. This is cuttlefish — genus Sepia (order Sepiida, family Sepiidae), identifiable by the broad internal cuttlebone. It is not squid (order Teuthida — longer body, thin feather-shaped shell, e.g. Uroteuthis, Loligo) and not octopus (order Octopoda — eight arms, no shell). Cuttlefish and squid both fall under HS 0307.43, but they are different genera with different meat texture and price; fix the Latin name Sepia spp. on the PO and packing list to avoid substitution. Note: "Wenjia Huazhi" is a regional trade name for this cuttlefish (Sepia) product, not squid.

Q2. What HS code applies to frozen cuttlefish slices? A. HS 0307.43 (frozen squid and cuttlefish) at the 6-digit level; the China 10-digit for frozen cuttlefish is 0307431000. Note: 0307.42 is scallops, not cuttlefish — do not confuse the two. Because these are dressed-and-sliced raw cuttlefish (not breaded or pre-cooked), they remain under 0307.43; only breaded / pre-cooked product moves to prepared codes such as 1605.54. Declare the Latin genus on the customs paperwork.

Q3. Is this farmed or wild, and which sustainability label applies? A. Cuttlefish are wild-caught (aquaculture is not commercial at scale), so the relevant certification is MSC (wild-capture fishery) — confirm the specific fishery certificate for the batch. ASC / BAP / GLOBALG.A.P. do not apply because they are farming standards. State the certification you require on the specification.

Q4. What does "fully dressed" and "tube cut vertically" mean in processing? A. "Fully dressed" means five things are removed from the small cuttlefish: the head, the viscera, the internal cuttlebone, the skin, and the black spots (dark epidermal pigment patches that remain after skinning and must be trimmed for a clean white look). After dressing, the tube body is cut vertically into regular slices — a consistent top-to-bottom cut that yields even-thickness slices, not diagonal or random cuts. The result is a uniform, ready-to-cook slice with no hard parts and no black residue.

Q5. What are the packaging, net-weight and thawing requirements I must specify? A. Three points buyers must pin down on the spec:

• Packaging — slices are tray-packed (e.g. 500 g / 35 pcs and 700 g / 35 pcs per tray). Use a moisture-proof, sealed tray with an outer overwrap to prevent freezer burn; thin slices lose quality fast if exposed to air.

• Net weight — the declared weight is net weight of product only, excluding tray, overwrap and any glaze. Confirm whether the order is fixed net weight with variable piece count or fixed 35 pcs with weight floating by slice thickness; agree the net-weight tolerance before production.

• Thawing — thaw under refrigeration (0–4 °C), slowly. Avoid room-temperature or running-water thawing, which causes water loss and a loose, broken texture; thin slices are especially sensitive. Use promptly after thawing and do not refreeze.