• Wild-caught Dosidicus gigas (Peruvian / Humboldt squid) — catalog default species (FAO 87, Southeast Pacific)
• Wing (ear) diced into cubes — fin separated from mantle, then cubed
• Dice sizes: 8–12 mm / 12–18 mm (other sizes to customer specification)
• Skin-on or skin-off; BQF block or IQF single-frozen
• Protective ice glaze 5–20% (BQF typically higher than IQF) to prevent freezer burn
• Fast, even cooking; tender, mildly sweet wing meat
• Value cut from the high-volume Dosidicus gigas fishery
• Suits fried rice, stir-fry, seafood mix, soup and dried/seasoned snack reprocessing

• Fried rice & mixed dishes: small dice blends uniformly without overcooking
• Asian stir-fry: quick-cooked with vegetables and sauce
• Seafood mix / surimi fillings: even cube size for consistent portions
• Soup & hot pot: added to seafood soup / steamboat
• Reprocessing: base for dried/seasoned squid-cube snacks

• MSC — applicable for certified wild fisheries (squid is wild-caught)
• ASC / BAP / GLOBALG.A.P. — NOT applicable (these are aquaculture standards; squid is not farmed commercially)
• HACCP / BRC / IFS / ISO 22000 — food-safety systems for processing
• HALAL / KOSHER — available on request

• Frozen at -18 °C or below. Typical shelf life 18–24 months under unbroken cold chain. Thaw in refrigerator; do not refreeze after thawing. Keep glaze intact until use.

Q1. Which squid species is this — and can it be substituted? A. The catalog default is Dosidicus gigas (Peruvian / Humboldt squid, FAO 87), the dominant eastern-Pacific species. The same "wing dice" cut can be made from other squid per buyer spec — Illex argentinus (Argentine short-finned squid), Todarodes pacificus (Japanese flying squid) or Ommastrephes bartramii (neon flying squid). These differ in meat texture, color and price. Fix the Latin name Dosidicus gigas on the purchase order and packing list to prevent species substitution, and confirm it on the health certificate.

Q2. What is the squid "ear" / wing, and how does "dice" differ from "strip" or "whole wing"? A. "Ear" / wing is the fin — the triangular flap at the head–body junction, cut free along the muscle seam. It is a distinct cut, not the whole squid, tube, or tentacle. "Whole wing / wing cut" supplies the intact fin piece; "wing strip" slices the fin into strips; "wing dice" cubes the fin into uniform granules. Dice is the most further-processed, fastest-cooking, most portion-uniform format. Specify which you want — dice for fried rice / mixes / fillings, strips for frying, whole wing for reprocessing.

Q3. How do I choose the dice size? A. Dice size drives the application. 8–12 mm (small) suits fried rice, seafood mixes and surimi / filling where the cube should disperse and cook in seconds; 12–18 mm (medium) suits stir-fry, soup and snack reprocessing where a chewier bite is wanted. Both are cut from the same Dosidicus gigas wing; state the target dimension and tolerance on the specification, since off-spec cubes affect both cooking and yield.

Q4. What HS code applies to frozen Peruvian squid wing dice? A. HS 0307.43 — "Squids (Ommastrephidae, Loliginidae, etc.), frozen." This 6-digit code covers frozen squid in all forms — whole, wing, wing strip, or wing dice — including Dosidicus gigas. Do not use 0307.42 (live/fresh/chilled squid) or 0307.49 (other molluscs). Because squid is wild-caught, MSC is the relevant sustainability label and ASC / BAP / GLOBALG.A.P. do NOT apply — a distinction frequently misunderstood in the market. If breaded or prepared, the code shifts to Chapter 16 — 1605.54.

Q5. BQF or IQF — which should I choose for diced wing? A. For diced product, IQF (individually quick-frozen) is recommended: cubes stay loose and free-flowing, ready for portion packs and automated lines, with no thaw-then-separate step. BQF (block-frozen) is lower-cost and acceptable for bulk reprocessing, but the cubes clump into a solid block and must be thawed before use. Both use the same wing-dice cut; choose IQF for retail/portion/ready-use and BQF for cutting plants that reprocess in bulk.