Seafood Business articles from August 2006

Seafood Business archives from August 2006

Collision course for catfish.(Company overview)
August 1, 2006... National Catfish Month, observed annually in August, will be celebrated in ways both big and small. Belzoni, Miss., the Catfish Capitol, will be buzzing, and hundreds of kids visiting the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga will playfully tug on...

Bonds still haunt shrimp importers, despite agreements.(TRADE)
August 1, 2006... More than 100 foreign shrimp exporters inked agreements with the Southern Shrimp Alliance allowing them to bypass the burdensome administrative-review process, lock in antidumping tariffs at the rates the U.S. Department of Commerce set early...

Mercury tests show conflicting results.(HEALTH)
August 1, 2006... After testing 142 samples of canned tuna and fresh fish from dozens of retail stores, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom declares that Americans' seafood supply is safe from the dangers of methylmercury. In fact, as the Washington,...

Landry's weighs future of Joe's Crab Shack.(Late NEWS)
August 1, 2006... Landry's Restaurants announced in late July that it's repositioning its chief brand, Joe's Crab Shack, and focusing on its high-end concepts, including Landry's Seafood House, Charley's Crab and Chart House. The nation's second-largest...

Illegal lobsters, groundfish nabbed at U.S.-Canada border.(Late NEWS)
August 1, 2006... U.S. fisheries officials continue to crack down on Canadian distributors exporting undersized and egg-bearing lobsters and illegally harvested groundfish. From July 16 through 20, 25 of 49 trucks inspected in Calais, Maine, attempted to...

Minnesota lutefisk producers merge.(Olsen Fish Co. acquires Mike's Fish & Seafood )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... North America's biggest lutefisk producer just got bigger. Olsen Fish Co. of Minneapolis acquired longtime rival Mike's Fish & Seafood of Glenwood, Minn., late last month. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. "It's a good fit for us,"...

Florida processors to market certified domestic shrimp.(Late NEWS)
August 1, 2006... Florida processors Wood's Fisheries, Tampa Maid and Cox's Wholesale Seafood (which Tampa Maid acquired in May) agreed in late July to sell domestic shrimp certified under Wild American Shrimp's quality-assurance program. The two companies...

Eating fish may help protect eyesight for elderly: seafood-rich diet cuts risk of age-related macular degeneration.(HEALTH)
August 1, 2006... Forget the carrots. Pass the fish. Two studies published in the July issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology say eating seafood may help reduce the risk of macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in old age. The first...

AmeriCold.(Biz BRIEFS)
August 1, 2006... AmeriCold held the grand opening of its second Charlotte, N.C., facility, in late June, The $4 million project covers 400,000 square feet, with 6.6 million cubic feet of freezer capacity and 4.5 million cubic feet of cooler space.

Trans-Ocean Products.(Biz BRIEFS)
August 1, 2006... Trans-Ocean Products, a Bellingham, Wash., seafood processor, was named Kroger's 2005 Supplier of the Year in the private-label Frozen & Refrigerated Seafood category.

Electrolyzer Corp.(Biz BRIEFS)
August 1, 2006... Electrolyzer Corp.'s ElectroCide System earned a 2006 Kitchen Innovations[TM] award from the National Restaurant Association. The system produces non-toxic "electrolyzed water" for disinfecting and sanitizing.

Preferred Freezer Services Boston Harbor.(Biz BRIEFS)
August 1, 2006... Preferred Freezer Services Boston Harbor now offers cold-storage warehousing services from the former Coldwater Terminal and Warehouse in Everett, Mass. This is Preferred Freezer Services' 14th North American facility.

Laitram Machinery.(Biz BRIEFS)
August 1, 2006... Laitram Machinery acquired the principal assets of Selcon ApS, a Danish firm specializing in the custom dean and manufacture of stainless-steel seafood-processing equipment.

Lobster dealers hope to profit from 'Deadliest Catch' spin-off: seafood benefits from Discovery's fishing-themed programs.(MARKETING)
August 1, 2006... Capitalizing on the success of "Deadliest Catch," the Discovery Channel this summer launched another fishing-themed reality-TV show that has New England lobstermen and dealers buzzing. The program, "Lobstermen: Jeopardy at Sea," chronicles...

Dine-out to aid Gulf Coast: restaurants will dish out hurricane relief Aug. 29.(CHARITY)
August 1, 2006... On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastation of the Gulf Coast, many of the nation's restaurants will donate a chosen portion of their proceeds to aid in the ongoing recovery efforts. Organized by Share Our Strength, a...

Consumer reports busts retailers for labeling farmed salmon as wild: NFI calls the expose's slant on health misguided and irresponsible.(HEALTH)
August 1, 2006... Though billed as an expose on consumer fraud, an article in this month's issue of Consumer Reports advises readers to choose wild salmon over farmed due to human-health concerns. The magazine, which has a circulation of about 4 million,...

Something fishy.
August 1, 2006... "IF YOU ARE WORRIED ABOUT 'SUSTAINABILITY' DON'T! I ONLY USE CLONED FISH!" [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Mazzetta pledges to give U.S. shrimpers a much-needed boost: the shrimp marketer questions SSA's direction, intent.(MARKETING)
August 1, 2006... The Mazzetta Co. announced July 17 that it will begin marketing domestic Gulf shrimp. The statement came 10 days after the Highland Park, Ill., shrimp importer e-mailed fishermen that it can bring them higher prices for their catches than the...

NGO Oceana recognizes three "green" grocers: whole Foods, Safeway, Wild Oats display mercury warnings for seafood.(RETAIL)
August 1, 2006... Oceana recently added Whole Foods to its "Green List" for the retailer's commitment to post methylmercury warning signs at the seafood counters in its stores. Safeway and Wild Oats are also on the list; both warn customers that women of...

Contest showcases Mexican shrimp.(Mexican Shrimp Council arranges cooking competition)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... The Mexican Shrimp Council in June visitor the Art Institute of California-San Diego to teach culinary arts students about authentic Mexican shrimp via a cooking competition featuring the choice crustacean. Laura Bruce won top honors and a...

Red Lobster rolls out new entrees.(Line ITEMS)
August 1, 2006... Red Lobster added three sea Red Lobster food dishes to its menu in July as part of a nationwide summer promotion aimed at boosting lagging sales The campaign, kicking off with network cable TV advertising, followed reports of a 5 percent sales...

COOL auditors hit retailers: suppliers also may be subject to audits in the fall.(FOOD SAFETY)
August 1, 2006... Inspectors in 14 states will begin auditing select retail outlets this month in an effort to enforce country-of-origin labeling, the law requiring retailers to label seafood as to its country of origin and whether it's wild or farmed. The...

Facts & figures.(Costco sales and earnings and prices for seafood)(Financial report)
August 1, 2006... 51.9 Costco s fiscal 2005 sales in billions of dollars 16.1 Costcos fiscal 2005 food sales in billions of dollars 534 Costcos fiscal 2005 online sales in millions of dollars 289.99...

Dealers discount Gulf browns to keep product moving: prices of Gulf whites are also falling thanks to a banner domestic harvest and a flood of imports.(SHRIMP)
August 1, 2006... An abundance of domestic Gulf browns of varying sizes hit the docks in late spring and early summer, reducing prices so much so that by mid-summer prices of shell-on, headless U15s and 16-20s were down more than $1 a pound from a year ago. ...

Demand for Southeast Alaska chums rises: Bristol Bay nets a banner sockeye harvest, but ex-vessel prices are down.(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Alaska's summer salmon fishery shifted into high gear last month. Between April 23 and July 21, fishermen netted 57.3 million fish. That's just over one-third of this year's projected catch of 166.9 million fish. Chums are showing up in...

China gobbles up yellowfin sole to re-export: domestic flounder, sole fisheries remain solid.(WHITEFISH)
August 1, 2006... If you buy or sell yellowfin sole, you probably know somebody in China. Through only the first five months of this year, the United States exported nearly 55 million pounds to China and is on pace to eclipse last year's total of 71 million...

Toothfish a buyer's market: prices drop as much as $1.(FOCUS)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Sales of Chilean sea bass are through the roof this summer, thanks to increased supplies and falling prices. In fact, prices of Chilean sea bass, or Patagonian toothfish, are down as much as $1 a pound from a year ago, according to one...

Mollusk sales mainly event driven: East Coast consumers eat the most mollusks year-round.
August 1, 2006... Shellfish add an upscale flair to any seafood department. In addition to crustaceans, the category includes mollusks: scallops, oysters, clams, mussels, squid, octopus, conch, snails and cuttlefish. Mollusk sales are largely occasion driven and...

Northeast fisheries spur active scallop market: imports skyrocket for Chinese bay scallops.(SHELLFISH)
August 1, 2006... It's a good time to be buying sea scallops. Strong domestic landings this year have dropped the price of New England U10s and 10-20s by well more than $1 per pound, creating what one buyer calls a "wild" market. And, despite the early...

COOL scofflaws may get a surprise.(Editor's NOTE)
August 1, 2006... Retailers and suppliers who've hoped and prayed that country-of-origin labeling would not be enforced will have a rude awakening this month when state inspectors come knocking on their door. COOL, which went into effect in April 2005, requires...

Science, not sentiment, is key to live-lobster sales: Whole Foods' decision to stop selling live lobsters is sure to spawn consumer inquiries.(Seafood FAQ)
August 1, 2006... American lobsters have a way of tugging at our heartstrings. Remember Bubba, the 22-pound behemoth that was spared by a Pittsburgh seafood dealer and donated to the local aquarium in 2005? Or Hercules, the 14-pounder that Port Angeles, Wash.,...

A successful launch meets everyone's needs: product development is much more than flavor and packaging decisions.(Trend WATCH)
August 1, 2006... If your company is considering launching a new seafood product in the next few months, you're far from alone. More than 33,000 new products are launched each year, nearly 15,000 of them food items, according to Productscan Online data for 2004....

Seafood sparks sales for Yard House: casual chain's innovative menu is what you might expect at a specialty-seafood house.(In the KITCHEN)
August 1, 2006... You wouldn't expect to see items like Porcini Crusted Halibut and Miso Chilean Sea Bass on the menu at a typical casual chain restaurant. Then again, Yard House isn't your typical casual chain restaurant. In addition to touting a classic rock...

Suggestive selling key to sparking impulse buys: shoppers' unplanned purchases drive business in the seafood department.(Case STUDY)
August 1, 2006... A beautiful display of blue mussels caught the eye of John Stanton, a food-marketing expert in Philadelphia, one spring weekend as he waited at his local supermarket seafood counter for the four salmon steaks on his shopping list. Anticipating...

Wild salmon: retailers and restaurateurs in the lower 48 look north to Alaska for seasonal salmon promos.(Species FOCUS)
August 1, 2006... It's safe to describe Jeremy McLachlan, the executive chef at Salty's Seafood Grill on Alki Beach in Seattle, as an unabashed fan of wild salmon. "I love the color, the flavor, the fattiness... and how it cooks," McLachlan says. Wild...

Crawfish: in Louisiana, the major U.S. producer, price and supply are at Mother Nature's mercy.
August 1, 2006... Louisiana is famous for its crawfish, celebrated in crawfish boils, po' boy sandwiches, etouffee and jambalaya. In fact, the state produces 90 percent of total U.S. "mudbug" landings from two native commercial species: red swamp crawfish...

Slade Gorton.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Kimberly Gorton, the granddaughter of Slade Gorton & Co.'s founder, was named president of the family-owned business, which has offices in Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Chicago. Gorton, 40, formerly executive VP...

Follett Corp.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Follett Corp., an Easton, Pa., manufacturer of ice-related equipment for foodservice, appointed Dave Tumbusch VP of operations. He previously worked for the Carrier Corp. as director of operations.

Ocean Garden Products.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Privatizing of Ocean Garden Products, the leading U.S. importer of Mexican shrimp, resulted in a new ownership group and management team. Sergio Mazon, chairman of Ocean Garden's board, is the company's newly elected president and CEO....

IFDA.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Heather McTavish Doucet joined the International Foodservice Distributors Association as the trade group's director of government relations. Her duties include working on transportation, environmental and food issues. She will also manage...

Multivac.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Packaging equipment manufacturer Multivac made two recent appointments in its service organization. Bill Gardner was named Eastern regional service supervisor, and John Hofer is Western regional service supervisor. The North American service...

U.S. Tuna Foundation.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Anne Forristall Luke is now president of the U.S. Tuna Foundation, which represents the interests of the domestic canned-tuna industry, including the U.S. distant-water tuna purse seine fleet and branded tuna processors Star-Kist Foods, Bumble...

Food Marketing Institute.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Jim Kendzel was named managing director of the Food Marketing Institute's Safe Quality Food Institute, the world's only retailer-owned certification program for food safety and quality.

Robert Wholey & Co.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Wholey's of Pittsburgh made two recent in-house promotions. Josh Gamble was promoted to inside sales foodservice specialist. Connie Harshbarger, formerly an account temp, advanced to senior accounting analyst, addressing wholesale-division...

Marine Stewardship Council.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Philip Fitzpatrick, former managing director of the Americas for the farmed-salmon operation Marine Harvest, joined the Marine Stewardship Council as U.S. commercial director.

IMS.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... International Marketing Specialists in West Newton, Mass., retained Mark Capozzoli to manage sales in the company's Western region, including western Canada and Hawaii. A 15-year sales veteran, Capozzoli has worked for TransPac-Foods, Empress...

Trisome Foods.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Trisome Foods of Stratham, N.H., named Michael Mussig director of sales and marketing. Mussig, who has 23 years of seafood sales and marketing experience, will be responsible for launching Trisome's newline of Asian food products later this...

StarKist.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Del Monte Foods named Apu Mody top executive of its StarKist tuna brand, replacing Jeff Watters. Mody previously headed up Del Monte's fruit and vegetable brands, which he will continue to oversee.

Southern Shrimp Alliance.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... Elaine Knight, co-owner and manager of Knight's Seafood in Burnwick, Ca., was elected president of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. She replaces Joey Rodriguez, who chose not to seek relection when his term expired.

Captain D's.(Product UPDATE)
August 1, 2006... David Head joined Sagittarius Brands as president of the company's Captain D's Seafood subsidiary. Head replaces Ron Walker, who retired after two decades of leading the chain.

In memoriam.(Product UPDATE)(Obituary)
August 1, 2006... John T. Handy Jr. of Crisfield, Md., co-owner until 1981 of the seafood company that bore his name, died June 20 at the age of 89. Handy's father founded the John T. Handy Seafood Co. in 1903. Today, the softshell-crab processor is known as...

A taste of the tropics.(VALUE-ADDED)(tuna fish with sauce)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Icelandic USA offers Market Bay brand ahi tuna with Jamaican jerk sauce and pineapple-mango salsa. The frozen retail entree features a yellowfin tuna portion sauced and topped with all-natural ingredients, including cubes of fresh mango,...

UpperCrust ethnic cuisine.(VALUE-ADDED)
August 1, 2006... Fishery Products International has added two mahimahi entrees to its UpperCrust[R] foodservice line: Macadamia-Crusted Mahimahi with Pineapple and Ginger and Salsa-Crusted Mahimahi with Roasted Corn and Black Beans. The 5- to 6-ounce...

Eight-headed monster.(SCALES)
August 1, 2006... CombiScale introduces the CS-8 Head combination scale. This eight-head model is precise, simple to use and priced lower than most linear scales. It goes from 7 grams to 1.5 pounds with a [+ or -]0.3- to 2-gram accuracy and offers speeds of up...

Tough and accurate.(SCALES)(floor scales )(Gainco Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Gainco now offers a 20-square-inch model of its rugged DuraWeigh[R] heavy-duty floor scales for seafood processors. A stout stainless-steel base prevents flexing to ensure weighing accuracy; and the openframe design allows for deep cleaning...

Calendar 2006.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... AUGUST Aug. 27-30 Australasian Aquaculture Conference & Trade Show Adelaide Convention Center Adelaide, Australia Contact Claudia Metti +61 (0) 8 8226 2269; metti.claudia@saugov.sa.gov.au ...

Peter Boulukos: partner and corporate chef, The Restaurant People.(Interview)
August 1, 2006... Tarpon Bend Raw Bar & Grill is like many Florida-based casual-dining restaurants. Its menu focuses on the state's bountiful seafood, and its interior design attracts a hip Key-West crowd. But what sets Tarpon Bend, and parent company The...