World Cup fans flames of crawfish craze

Crustaceans prove a hit with those watching games in bars in Russia and China

Although China's soccer team is missing from the ongoing 2018 FIFA World Cup, the country's crawfish are representing it on the global stage during the tournament.

Hundreds of millions of the small red crustaceans are being served in bars and restaurants in Russia and China, as hunger can strike unexpectedly when staying up late to watch the games.

While most diners consume crawfish for pleasure, for Qu Yunxiao it's strictly business.

With crawfish becoming a staple in Chinese homes and restaurants, quality control steps in. Qu's job is to taste batches of crawfish soaked in chilli and pepper to ensure they are of a suitable standard.

The 25-year-old studied supply chain management at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. Upon getting her master's degree last year, she joined Xinliangji, a crawfish processing company in Central China's Hubei province, as a professional taster.

Hubei alone accounts for 55 percent of the country's craw-fish industry, with 1.13 million metric tons in annual output, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in June.