Seafood Business articles from August 2004

Seafood Business archives from August 2004

The COOL conundrum.(country of origin labeling )
August 1, 2004... Time is running out for seafood suppliers, distributors and retailers to comply with country-of-origin labeling regulations. But no one knows precisely what the rules are. By Sept. 30, seafood products sold at retail must be labeled as to...

Shrimp from China, Vietnam hit with preliminary tariffs.(Trade)
August 1, 2004... The Department of Commerce accused Chinese and Vietnamese exporters early last month of illegally selling shrimp in the United States for less than they sell it at home and placed preliminary dumping margins on shrimp imports flora both...

Red Lobster shows its lighter side.(Foodservice)
August 1, 2004... Red Lobster on July 5 introduced a new "LightHouse" menu to help health-conscious patrons make educated dietary decisions. The menu provides the calorie, fat and carbohydrate content for 30 items on the chain's core menu. Red Lobster's...

Study claims red snapper is often mislabeled.(Late News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... American red snapper is frequently passed off as other less-expensive snapper species, according to a study published in the July 15 issue of Nature. University of North Carolina researchers purchased and tested 22 samples of fish labeled as...

Seafood-allergy awareness grows.(Late News)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Results from a Mount Sinai School of Medicine study indicate seafood allergies are more common than once thought. More than 6.5 million Americans are believed to be allergic to fish or shellfish, according to the study, "Prevalence of Seafood...

McCormick & Schmick's completes IPO.(Late News)
August 1, 2004... McCormick & Schmick's, the Portland, Ore., seafood chain with 51 restaurants nationwide, netted $72 million in its July 20 initial public offering on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The company sold 6 million shares at $12.34 each, slightly above...

Captain D's continues to grow, looks to Northeast.(Late News)
August 1, 2004... Captain D's plans to open 14 more restaurants by the end of October, capping its most aggressive year of expansion in more than a decade. So far in fiscal 2004, the fast-casual seafood chain has opened 13 locations, four company-owned and nine...

Second U.S. shrimp farm nets USDA organic seal; organic standards in the works for farm-raised seafood.(Aquaculture)
August 1, 2004... OceanBoy Farms in Clewiston, Fla., on July 9 became the second U.S. shrimp farm to qualify as organic and display the U.S. Department of Agriculture certified-organic seal. In 2003, Permian Sea Shrimp in Imperial, Texas, became the first...

FDA moves to allow omega-3 message on product labels; agency approves content claim, rejects dietary statement, weighs health claim.(Health)(Food and Drug Administration)
August 1, 2004... The Food and Drug Administration in the last several weeks made two decisions and is weighing a third that will define how seafood suppliers can use product labels to better communicate seafood's health profile to consumers. The labels of...

MacKnight Smoked Foods.(Biz Briefs)
August 1, 2004... MacKnight Smoked Foods was reacquired in late May by former owner Jonathan Brown through the purchase of Cambridge Food Group, which had taken over and renamed the MacKnight brand and Cambridge House. Brown reportedly has changed the name of...

A. Mindle & Associates.(Biz Briefs)
August 1, 2004... A. Mindle & Associates, which distributes TRAYCOMPACT smoked-fish-mounting boards, has moved from Napa, Calif., to 115 Post St., Santa Cruz, Calif., 95060; telephone (831) 425-6625. A. Mindle now also distributes AirLiner, an inflatable,...

EUROFISH.(Biz Briefs)
August 1, 2004... EUROFISH, part of the FISH INFO network of fish marketing and information services created by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, has a new address: H. C. Andersens Boulevard 44-46, 1553 Copenhagen V, Denmark; tel. +45...

King & Prince Seafood Corp.(Biz Briefs)
August 1, 2004... King & Prince Seafood Corp. presented its Broker of the Year Award to RPA of Maryland in recognition of the company's role in growing market share and profitability in key Mid-Atlantic markets.

Ahold sets salmon standard; farm audits target food safety, environmental practices.(Environment)
August 1, 2004... Royal Ahold, the Dutch owner of 7,000 supermarkets in Europe and the United States, is adopting farmed-salmon standards to guide purchases for all its stores. In the United States, Ahold owns 1,600 stores under the Stop & Shop, BI-LO,...

Louisiana mulls antidumping petition against crabmeat imports; seeks support among fishermen and processors from Maryland to Texas.(Trade)
August 1, 2004... Louisiana's blue-crab industry is considering filing an antidumping petition against imports of blue-swimming-crab meat, which the state's fishermen and processors suspect are being sold in the United States for less than they're sold in the...

Omega-3s in seafood may reduce risk of prostate cancer; National Cancer Institute study evaluated 47,866 men over 14 years.(Health)
August 1, 2004... Men with diets high in the omega-3 fatty acids found primarily in fish may reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer, the second most common form of cancer among American men, behind skin cancer, notes a study published in the July issue...

Facts & figures.(News Line)(Illustration)
August 1, 2004... 1952 Year Gorton's of Gloucester introduced the fish stick, called Gorton's Fried & Frozen Codfish 98.9 U.S. production of fish sticks in 1987, in millions of pounds 48.1 U.S. production of fish sticks...

Fla. Shells' ownership shifts; struggling casual seafood chain overhauls its image.(Foodservice)
August 1, 2004... Two New York investment firms acquired a significant share of Shells' 26 Florida restaurants in late June. The casual seafood chain, which is in the midst of reshaping its image, has struggled financially in recent years. On June 26, GCM...

AMA urges point-of-sale mercury warnings; study links fish consumption to brain development.(Health)
August 1, 2004... The American Medical Association in June urged the Food and Drug Administration to require that mercury warnings be posted where fish, including canned tuna, is sold. The AMA is the latest organization to weigh in on the debate over how to...

Are carbs losing clout?(The Big Picture)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
August 1, 2004... Nutritional factors consumers consider when buying groceries Nutrition Factors Percent of respondents Consumers count calories first Total calories 40 Total fat 37 Calories from fat ...

Four meals of oily fish weekly OK in UK.(Line Items)
August 1, 2004... The United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency in June issued for the first time maximum levels at which the health benefits of eating oily fish outweigh the possible risks from dioxins. The new advice, the result of an independent expert advisory...

Lobster champ versus oyster queen.(Line Items)
August 1, 2004... Seafood has claimed its place on the competitive-eating circuit. On Aug. 21 in Kennebunkport, Maine, the World Lobster-Eating Championship will pit world champ Lobster-eater and Maine resident Kevin Cross against the world's best competitive...

Food & Wine, July 2004.(Media Mentions)
August 1, 2004... "Simple seafood" is the topic in dais issue's "Fast" column by seafood pro Eric Ripert, chef at New York's famed Le Bernardin. Here he presents eight seafood dishes with international accents ranging from Vietnamese to Indian to Spanish--all...

New York Times, June 30, 2004.(Media Mentions)
August 1, 2004... The main Dining Out feature, "When the park is your kitchen," explores the challenges of cooking outdoors--and in style--on New York park grills. No mundane burgers here. The picnic fare packed for a dinnertime outing includes a tantalizing...

Three decades of seafood know-how make up one handy book.(Off the Shelf)(Mariner's Menu: 30 Years of Fresh Seafood Ideas)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Back in the early, '70s, North Carolina State University's Seafood Lab launched a program to promote the abundance of local seafood. In the process, women with the Carteret County Home Extension Club gathered monthly to test ways of handling,...

Supply shifts to countries omitted from antidumping action; fear of supply lapses and price increases should strengthen demand this month.(Shrimp)
August 1, 2004... Expect Indonesia, Bangladesh and Venezuela to emerge as significant contributors to the U.S. shrimp supply, now that preliminary dumping margins have been assessed for imports from China, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Ecuador and Brazil. The flow...

Prices of wild product are up overall; increased demand is largely responsible for this summer's high prices.(Salmon)
August 1, 2004... Renewed interest in wild salmon has elevated prices of the Pacific Northwest fish this summer. Record-high prices of Alaska's Copper River kings and sockeye, the result of overzealous marketers and a mediocre harvest set the tone. When the...

Deep-water grouper fishery shuts down; red and shallow-water fisheries remain open, with quotas less than half met.(Finfish)
August 1, 2004... The domestic Gulf of Mexico deep-water grouper fishery closed July 15, when fishermen met the 1-million-pound annual quota. Deepwater species include misty, snowy, yellowedge, speckled-hind and Warsaw grouper. The fishery reopens Jan. 1, 2005....

Demand for sword is flat; higher prices are partly to blame.(Preview)
August 1, 2004... Increased prices and consumer concerns about the toxin methylmercury have softened demand for fresh swordfish. The Food and Drug Administration updated its methylmercury advisory in March, warning pregnant women, nursing mothers and women...

Snow-crab buyers aren't biting; Newfoundland's opilio fishery closes two weeks early this month.(Shellfish)
August 1, 2004... The snow-crab market has been unusually quiet so far this summer. Supply is ample, but U.S. buyers are in no rush to build up inventories. Alaska's Bering Sea snow-crab fishery in January yielded only 9,929 metric tons, 1,948 metric tons...

Fix antidumping laws.(Editor's Note)
August 1, 2004... If you know anything about antidumping laws, you probably were not surprised that the Southern Shrimp Alliance won initial victory in its antidumping case against imported farmed shrimp. (See cover Newsline story.) Shrimp importers were...

Corrections.(Editor's Note)(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2004... In the July Newsline story "Blue Star rolls out line of crabmeat in resealable pouches," we erroneously reported that retailers, including Wal-Mart Supercenter, are selling Blue Star Food Products' 1-pound Zip'n Store pouches of...

Wide-ranging shrimp tariffs defy logic.(One Man's Opinion)
August 1, 2004... To no one's surprise, the U.S. Department of Commerce said shrimp exporters in China and Vietnam were guilty as charged. On July 6, the U.S. Department of Commerce said that the two countries, which were judged under the highly arbitrary...

Big subsidies threaten commerce and fish stocks.(Trade Forum)
August 1, 2004... The respective international trade agendas of environmentalists and the seafood industry frequently--and naturally--conflict. The greens want to protect as many fish in the seas as they can, while commercial fishermen profit from catching as...

PCBs present challenging PR problem; here's help in responding to consumer concerns about salmon safety.(Seafood FAQ)
August 1, 2004... Farmed salmon's image remains battered and bruised eight months after media coverage of a study published in Science magazine that found higher PCB levels in farmed than in wild salmon. The study, conducted by a research team led by Ronald A....

Seafood gains fans on TV shopping networks; crab cakes top the list of seafood items home viewers purchase.(Trend Watch)
August 1, 2004... While they may be a smaller part of overall food sales now, TV shopping venues have seen the potential for selling seafood products on air and are poised to tap into this promising market. With thousands of units selling for $30 to $50 or...

Fine-tuned Mitchell's Fish Market aims for the Lexus crowd; Cameron Mitchell plans to ramp up expansion of the winning upscale concept.(On the Menu)
August 1, 2004... Cameron Mitchell has tried just about everything when it comes to menu concepts, from steakhouses and Asian bistros to retro diners and Italian trattorias. In the 11 years since he first opened Cameron's, a contemporary American bistro in...

Party platters create seasonal sales opportunities; shrimp is a popular choice, but dips, spreads and other shellfish work, too.(SeaFood University)
August 1, 2004... Whether it's a shrimp platter for the Super Bowl or a selection of seafood dips and spreads for a Fourth of July picnic, a well-executed party-platter program can help your seafood department get its fair share of shoppers' entertainment-food...

Wild salmon: chefs and retailers nationwide are going wild this summer over the Pacific Northwest fish.(Species Focus)
August 1, 2004... Wild salmon aren't the speediest swimmers in the sea, but they're moving through restaurants and supermarkets faster than any other fish this summer. Demand for fresh, premium wild salmon has reached new heights in 2004, as restaurateurs...

Moi: Hawaii's "fish of kings" is making a comeback via aquaculture.(Product Spotlight)
August 1, 2004... You are not alone if you're not familiar with Hawaiian moi, also called Pacific threadfin. Historically, most Hawaiians never tasted the fish, as it was reserved for the ali'i, of male royalty, hence its unofficial name as "the fish of kings."...

FKI Logistex.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... FKI Logistex, a leading supplier of integrated material-handling solutions, appointed three senior executives to its North American management team. Named presidents of the company's new customer-facing divisions are Dave Baker, Manufacturing...

Newport International.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Gerald M. Schwartz joined the sales management team at Newport International, headquartered in Tierra Verde, Fla., home of the Jack's Catch brand of seafood products. Schwartz brings with him a diversified seafood sales and management...

Monterey Bay Aquarium.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Michael Sutton, director of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation's Sustainable Fisheries Program, in July joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium as VP and director of its new Center for the Future of the Oceans. The center's goal is to advance the...

Tote.(People In The News)(Totem Ocean Trailer Express Inc.)
August 1, 2004... Recent promotions at Totem Ocean Trailer Express include Bill Deaver, from COO to president and COO; Phil Morrell, from marine superintendent to VP of marine operations; John Parrott, from general manager Alaska to CP/general manager of TOTE's...

Landry's.(People In The News)(Landry's Restaurants Inc.)
August 1, 2004... Rick Liem in June became Landry's Restaurants' new CFO, following the resignation of Paul West to pursue other interests. Liem was previously Landry's controller and VP of accounting.

NFA.(People In The News)(Northwest Fisheries Association)
August 1, 2004... Barry Lester, who for 15 years was president and CEO of the Seafood Producers Co-op in Bellingham, Wash., is now executive director of the Northwest Fisheries Association. Lester has an extensive seafood-industry background as founder of...

Aquafarms International.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Aquafarms International appointed Susan Simpson to the new position of sales and marketing director for branded products. Her job is to grow the company's branded and smoked business. Jose Rivera is Aquafarms' new customer service and sales...

Gorton's.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Gorton's of Gloucester, a leading frozen-seafood brand, promoted 13-year veteran Mark Lamothe to the newly created role of VP of business development and appointed Judson Reis VP of marketing, replacing Lamothe in that capacity. Reis was most...

Associated Packaging Technologies.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Associated Packaging Technologies, the Jupiter, Fla., maker of thermoformed plastic food trays, named Mark Staton its new CEO. Staton succeeds APT's founder and current CEO, Chuck Buff, who will continue as a member of the board of directors....

Intralox.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Donald Kermick Jr. joined Intralox' meat, poultry and seafood team as account manager. Intralox is the inventor and a major manufacturer of modular plastic conveyor belts.

C&S Wholesale.(People In The News)(Jim Wallace, C and S Wholesale Grocers Inc.)
August 1, 2004... C&S Wholesale Grocers of Brattleboro, Vt., the third-largest U.S. grocery distributor, promoted Jim Wallace to VP of seafood and meat procurement. Wallace has 20 years' experience in seafood sales, marketing and distribution.

Connell Purchasing Services.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Bill Lewis filled the new position of director of sales for Connell Purchasing Services, a full-line provider of strategic sourcing and outsourced purchasing-management services across every product category. Lewis has more than 26 years'...

Women's Foodservice Forum.(People In The News)
August 1, 2004... Completing its transition to independent management, the Women's Foodservice Forum chose Ellen Moore as its new executive director. Christine Melendes is operations director, and Dawn Harris is marketing director.

Wire belting boosts production.(Conveyors/Belts)(from Wirebeh)
August 1, 2004... Wirebeh[R] introduces patented C-CureEdge[TM], an open-mesh, stainless-steel wire belting that reduces downtime and upgrades safety in food-processing applications. Closed-loop ends offer faster installation and repair time while minimizing the...

Quick and quiet.(Conveyors/Belts)
August 1, 2004... SpanTech's ID-Series of incline/decline conveyors, part of the WhisperTrax[TM] modular flexible-conveyor line, allows users to raise of lower product in one continuous run. Available in epoxy-powder-coated paint or stainless steel, the...

Metal-free fastener.(Conveyors/Belts)(from Flexco)
August 1, 2004... The non-metallic Alligator[R] Spiral Late fastener system from Flexco is a quick-replacement, low-profile, easily separable alternative to costly, time-consuming vulcanized splicing for thin, light-duty conveyor belts. A totally metal-free...

Protection from heat and cold.(Thermal Covers)
August 1, 2004... Insulated WeatherGuard pallet covers from Refrigiwear protect temperature-sensitive perishables. Velcro openings allow easy access, and bungee cords at bottom provide optimal insulation. The covers are available in the heavy-duty 150P or...

Calendar 2004-05.(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... Aug. 28-30 Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo Los Angeles Convention Center Los Angeles Contact Reed Exhibitions (800) 840-5612 www.westernfoodexpola.com SEPTEMBER Sept. 10-12 Florida Restaurant...

Nicholas Cacace: Director of meat and seafood, Gourmet Garage.(One On One)(Interview)
August 1, 2004... Foodies rarely frequent warehouse-club stores unless they are searching for a year's supply of Advil of a case of toilet paper. But New York foodies have their own version of a club store--Gourmet Garage, which the New York Times calls "a...