True Blue Maryland Crab Meat

Only a small number of restaurants in Maryland reliably make their crab cakes from local crabmeat and the state does not require restaurants to identify the specific source of the meat. It’s time to stand behind our crab cakes and crab meat and proudly support this local luxury. True Blue, a promotion initiative from the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA), can help you to find out which restaurants are serving this local delicacy.

Customers can look at a menu and know right away that they’re getting what they think they’re getting if the menu has the “True Blue” logo. For years it has been an open secret that many “Maryland crab cakes” may be made Maryland-style, but not necessarily with Maryland, or even American, crab meat.

The ‘True Blue’ program allows restaurants serving Maryland blue crab product to use a special logo in marketing or advertising the product. Once a restaurant is signed up they receive a ‘True Blue’ logo to signify to their patrons that they are a True Blue member. Participation is promoted through social media and the marylandseafood.org website that gets nearly 100,000 visits a month.

How can you sign up? Contact us for more information.

Support Local!

If you are a restaurant, retail store, caterer, or other food service establishment that is interested in joining the

True Blue program please fill out this application. Scan the completed application, and send to our office for processing.

Find ‘True Blue’ Certified Partners on the Map Below

True Blue participants are the purple dots. Click on the double arrows (>>) in the upper left hand corner of the map to view the legend. The “+” and “-” buttons will let you zoom in or out of the map.

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