Seafood Business articles from November 2002

Seafood Business archives from November 2002

The next big thing. (Top Story).(no attention paid to trends by seafood chefs)
November 1, 2002... Trends don't create menus. Chefs do. The most elite seafood chefs scoff at what national food writers judge to be "in" or "out" and instead let their imaginations, the skill of their craft and the freshest seafood available lead the way. ...

High-end operators see sales rebound after last fall's slump. (Industry Survey).(seafood restaurants)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Operators at upscale seafood restaurants adapted to the tough economic climate this year by increasing efficiency and menuing more inexpensive items and fewer expensive items to keep food costs down. They also improved customer service and...

Pacific port shutdown backlogs imports. (Supply).(International Longshore and Warehouse Union accused of work slowdown)(Pacific Maritime Association decision creates seafood backlog)
November 1, 2002... The imported seafood backlogged at docks from Seattle to San Diego during a 10-day port shutdown was beginning to clear out in mid-October. Delayed product was expected to reach supermarkets and restaurants nationwide in time for the busy...

Importers unite to counter protectionism. (Late News).(American Seafood Distributors Association)(restriction of seafood imports)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The American Seafood Distributors Association, a trade group formed in the 1970s, was resurrected last month by nearly 40 importers, distributors, retailers and restaurateurs. The companies joined forces to promote fair and free trade and...

Sniper attacks cut into D.C.-area seafood business. (Late News).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... With a sniper at large, on-edge residents of the suburbs surrounding Washington, D.C., have changed their food-buying behavior to protect themselves from the sniper who at press time had killed 10 people and wounded three since shootings began...

Hook-and-line-cod promotion a success, say chefs. (Late News).(environmentally-friendly Atlantic cod source)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Seventeen Boston-area chefs teamed up with Cape Cod day-boat fishermen and environmentalists last month to promote the Chatham, Mass., hook-and-line-cod fishery as an environmentally friendly source of Atlantic cod. The chefs featured...

Rubio's launches new image, expanded menu. (Late News).(new prototype in California)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Rubio's Restaurants unveiled a new prototype restaurant last month in Ventura, Calif., featuring an expanded menu in an effort to redefine its image as a chicken and steak fast-casual chain as well as a fish-taco chain. The new prototype...

Darden will be expanding with 60 new restaurants by June; expansion takes Bahama Breeze to the West Coast. (Foodservice).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Darden Restaurants plans to add about 60 new restaurants by the time its fiscal year ends in May 2003. Red Lobster's expansion plans call for adding a total of eight to 12 restaurants. Four opened in early August in Orlando, Kissimmee and...

FDA says efforts to increase safety of U.S. seafood supply are working; smokers and processors of "scombroid species" still slow to adopt HACCP. (Food Safety).(Food and Drug Administration)(Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
November 1, 2002... More domestic seafood processors are identifying and preventing potential food-safety problems, says the Food and Drug Administration in its 2000-01 HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) evaluation, the second since the program became...

Dick Gutting steps down after 20 years at NFI; search committee formed to find new chief. (NFI).(National Fisheries Institute)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The National Fisheries Institute is searching for a new chief executive following the Oct. 6 resignation of President Dick Gutting, who is leaving the trade group after 20 years--including five years as president--to practice law at a...

Faine-Oller Productions. (Biz Briefs).(graphic design award for Festa salmon)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Faine-Oller Productions won two 2002 American Graphic Design awards of excellence for the logo and retort pouch package it designed for Festa salmon, a brand of Walcan Seafood Ltd. of Canada. This is the eighth American Graphic award won by...

Delta Pride Catfish. (Biz Briefs).(processing plant renovations)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Delta Pride Catfish just completed an $8 million renovation of its Indianola, Miss., main processing plant. The facility was expanded to 200,000 square feet to accommodate faster, new Baader equipment and to separate filleting, chilling and...

Surefish. (Biz Briefs).(seafood assurance company moves to Nova Scotia, Canada)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Surefish, a seafood quality-assurance company with laboratories in Alaska, Asia and Canada, relocated its Newfoundland lab to become more accessible to customers on the U.S. East Coast and eastern Canada. Surefish Atlantic is now at 1898 King's...

Phillips Foods. (Biz Briefs).(purchases Vietnamese seafood processing plant)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Phillips Foods in Baltimore, Md., purchased a 25,000 square-foot processing plant in Vietnam that will process crabmeat and seafood caught off the southern coast of Asia. The plant, six hours north of Ho Chi Minh City, is the company's 13th...

Oceanaire Seafood Room opens in beef country; fourth in chain offers Dallas diners 30 varieties of seafood. (Foodservice).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... "Power seafood" dining made its Dallas debut Nov. 2 when the nation's fourth Oceanaire Seafood Room opened its doors. The Dallas Oceanaire follows the theme of its three predecessors, which are located in Minneapolis, Seattle and...

Chicago Shaw's creates new menus in Japanese and Braille; restaurant acts on suggestions of its diverse guests. (Foodservice).(Shaw's Crab House and Oyster Bar)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Shaw's Crab House and Oyster Bar in downtown Chicago is now offering its dinner menu in Japanese and Braille versions. The upscale seafood restaurant began printing its menus in Japanese in August, taking the advice of some guests. ...

Facts & figures. (News Line).(Rubio's, Wahoo's fish tacos)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
November 1, 2002... 1983 Year the first Rubio's, home of the fish taco, opened in San Diego 133 Number of Rubio's restaurants 1988 Year the first Wahoo's Fish Taco opened in Costa Mesa, Calif. 26 Number of...

Ocean Beauty expands its distribution reach; merger produces $325M operation, new markets. (Supply).(Ocean Beauty Seafoods merger with Prospect Enterprises)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Ocean Beauty Seafoods of Seattle agreed last month to merge its distribution operations with those of Prospect Enterprises of Los Angeles, doing business as American Fish & Seafood Co. The move expands Ocean Beauty's reach into the California,...

Seattle Fish upgrades inventory systems with labor-saving software program; `white board' goes by the wayside in favor of real-time technology. (Distribution).
November 1, 2002... For more than a decade, whenever a retailer or chef placed an order with Seattle Fish, workers would climb up on a platform to reach a giant white board on the wall, erase the old inventory amount of that product and write in a new number to...

In my kitchen. (News Line).(Claude Solliard's restaurant, Seppi's)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Claude Solliard Chef-Owner Seppi's New York City Restaurant concept: French Bistro Seafood on the menu: Escargot, oysters, mussels, grilled dourade and tuna, prawn risotto, coho salmon paupiette Signature item: Rouleaux...

Easier access to FDA regs. (Line Items).(www.fda.gov/oc/industry)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... A new industry portal on the Food and Drug Administration's Web site makes it easier for regulated companies to find information they need to comply with agency regulations. The portal offers direct links to a wealth of material, such as...

How Americans eat. (Line Items).(NPD Group report)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... NPDFoodworld[R], a division of market information provider The NPD Group, released its "17th Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America? The trendable data shows where food comes from, who prepares it, what appliances are used and what foods...

At-Sea Processors honored for helping feed hungry; group donates 1 million seafood meals a year. (Charity).(America's Second Harvest honors seafood companies)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... America's Second Harvest, the largest U.S. hunger-relief organization, awarded special recognition to the At-Sea Processors Association in late September for its members' donations to feed hungry Americans. Seven companies annually donate...

Smoked sockeye product earns MSC eco-label; SeaBear is first to use logo in national distribution. (Environment).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... SeaBear, a Washington processor of Alaska salmon, received the green light in August to use the Marine Stewardship Council's eco-label on its Copper River sockeye smoked salmon. It is the first company to use the logo--indicating...

Neptune's Table" offers fresh view. (Off the Shelf).(Review)
November 1, 2002... In its well-illustrated 214 pages, "Neptune's Table, A View of America's Ocean Fisheries," takes a fresh, factual and thorough look at U.S. commercial fisheries. This hard-cover coffee-table book is a departure in publishing for the...

Tiger supplies and prices unaffected by port shutdown: a productive 2002-03 brown shrimp fishery is expected in the western Gulf of Mexico. (Shrimp).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... The 10-day closure of 29 West Coast ports due to a labor dispute had little effect on prices of Asian shrimp through mid-October. Current inventories met spot-market demand, which was fairly limited. The logjam of mostly cooked black tigers...

Halibut will be getting more expensive: Massachusetts cod and haddock landings jump notably this year. (Groundfish).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Expect to pay a premium for fresh halibut late this month. The 2002 halibut fishery doses on Nov. 15. Through Oct. 14, domestic landings totaled 55.4 million pounds, 94 percent of the 59-million-pound quota. And British Columbia landings came...

Dungeness crab fishery under pressure: king and snow crab prices continue rising amid strong demand. (Shellfish).
November 1, 2002... Increased demand and prices for king and snow crab should put more pressure on the 2002-03 Dungeness crab fishery, which opens on Dec. 1. Whether Dungeness provides much-needed relief to the king and snow crab markets next month depends, of...

Setback for roughy: Kiwis cut quota to rebuild stocks. (Focus).(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Prices of frozen orange roughy fillets from New Zealand, the leading supplier of the slow-growing, deepwater finfish to the U.S. market, could be on the way up. New Zealand's fisheries minister has cut the orange roughy quota off the east...

A quiet spot market keeps prices down; expect bargains this month as dealers try to stimulate demand. (Salmon).
November 1, 2002... Demand for Atlantic salmon is relatively weak in November, which should prevent prices from rising until the spot market heats up prior to Christmas and New Year's. The lack of demand was the only factor keeping down prices of British...

The system works. (Publisher's Note).(supplying shrimp to restaurants)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Redundancy is one of the Internet's greatest features. When one electronic avenue is cut off, another opens, with no disruption. The end-user has no inkling the data on the screen bounced to five different locations, covering thousands of miles...

Seafood trade disputes spill over into food safety. (Issues & Answers).(labeling, inspection used to reduce imports)
November 1, 2002... Imported seafood, particularly shrimp and salmon, is putting pressure on prices and therefore on domestic seafood industries. Alarm over lower prices is evident in recent efforts to obtain protective tariffs against imported salmon, shrimp,...

U.S. aquaculture can meet consumers' demand. (Aquaculture Forum).
November 1, 2002... All seafood forecasts point to aquaculture as a major player in future seafood supply. Oldways Preservation Trust, in its publication on water farming titled Heads or Tails, predicts, "By the year 2030 aquaculture will dominate fish supplies,...

Upscale restaurateurs get creative to survive economic downturn; strategies include paring waste and adding less expensive seafood items to the menu. (Foodservice Survey).
November 1, 2002... Red Lobster, the nation's largest casual seafood chain, with $2.3 billion in FY 2002 sales, posted same-restaurant sales gains of 6 percent in the second quarter of FY 2002, which ended Nov. 25, and 12 percent in the third quarter of FY 2002,...

Chef's !Pasion! turns customers on to ceviche; Guillermo Pernot is taking this Latino treat beyond a passing fad. (Seafood Star).
November 1, 2002... On any given day, nearly all the patrons at !Pasion!, chef Guillermo Pernot's Nuevo Latino 100-seat restaurant in Philadelphia, are eating ceviche. Ceviche, a traditional marinated raw fish and seafood dish from South and Central America, has...

Smart marketers know what women want; seafood industry looks to innovative marketing and product development to tap female buying clout. (Trend Watch).
November 1, 2002... Seafood merchandisers may have known for years that it's women who decide where, when and how to buy, prepare and eat seafood. But it's taken them a long time to step up to the plate and develop products and marketing campaigns aimed...

Operators give new meaning to `let's do lunch'; light, quick and cost-effective, seafood is ideal for the noontime daypart. (On the Menu).
November 1, 2002... American consumers skip lunch more than any other meal. The NPD Group, a market information company in Port Washington, N.Y., reports an average of 59 skipped lunches per capita in 2001, compared to 46 skipped breakfasts and 16 missed dinners....

Live shellfish require special treatment: do your part to counter negative perceptions about the mollusks and crustaceans you sell. (The Grocery Store).
November 1, 2002... Strange as it may seem, consumers are very confused about shellfish. They hear frequent news reports about red tides and illnesses related to odd-sounding words like Vibrio vulnificus and end up avoiding shellfish. Seafood department...

Los Angeles is where the seafood action is: welcome to the West Coast's only seafood trade show. (WCSS Preview).
November 1, 2002... The International West Coast Seafood Show will mark its seventh year when the doors of the Los Angeles Convention Center open Nov. 3. The show, sponsored by SeaFood Business magazine and the National Fisheries Institute, is the only...

WCSS exhibitors. (WCSS Preview).(International West Coast Seafood Show)(Directory)
November 1, 2002... COMPANY BOOTH # 3-Dimensional Software 753 Pompano Beach, FL Web: www.3-dsoftware.com Computers/Information Systems, Consulting,...

Dining in LA: the hard part is making a choice from among so many standouts. (WCSS Preview).(Directory)
November 1, 2002... When you're ready to either relax or shift business dealings to a more restful setting after a day at the seafood show, Los Angeles offers many superb restaurant options. A sampling of highly rated dinner spots is presented here for your...

Conference program preview: pick the WCSS sessions that meet your business needs. (WCSS Preview).
November 1, 2002... Brand-new to the International West Coast Seafood Show this year is a conference program with a lineup of timely issues that are top-of-mind for seafood professionals. Whether your focus is retail, foodservice or distribution, you'll find...

Keynoters: the country's top high-volume buyers take you inside their operations. (WCSS Preview).
November 1, 2002... An elite group of decision makers in the food and beverage arena will deliver the keynote address on Sunday afternoon at the International West Coast Seafood Show. Speaking will be one of the nation's top buyers, Tony Drane, director of...

New show targets Latino market: Expo Comida Latina showcases foods and beverages geared to Hispanic tastes. (WCSS Preview).(International West Coast Seafood Show)
November 1, 2002... Visitors to the International West Coast Seafood Show will also have free admission to the brand-new Expo Comida Latina, The Hispanic Food and Beverage Show. Los Angeles, home to 4 million Latinos, is the ideal venue for the event. ...

Atlantic salmon: growth hinges on the farmed-salmon industry's ability to produce and market winning value-added products. (Species Focus).
November 1, 2002... The Stew Leonard's supermarket Danbury, Conn., put fresh Atlantic salmon fillets on ad for $2.99 a pound early this year, and the store sold around 4,000 pounds per week, more than four times its average weekly amount. The first week in...

Sablefish: black cod may look and taste a lot like the popular Chilean sea bass, but it still can be a tough sell. (Product Spotlight).
November 1, 2002... If ever the time was right for more Americans to discover the unique, rich taste of sablefish, a North Pacific delicacy, it would seem to be now. As environmental groups roll through city after city with their "Take a Pass on Chilean Sea Bass"...

Smokers: smoked-seafood processors count on consistent quality for their high-end products. (Equipment Focus).
November 1, 2002... Dustin Batley, smoker for Ducktrap River Fish Farm in Belfast, Maine, talks about his job with the same attention to detail and subtle flavors that you would expect from Robert Mondavi talking about making wine. When smoking salmon, trout...

FPI. (People In The News).(Fishery Products International)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... David Strathern, VP of sales for Fishery Products International's Away From Home division, is spearheading the expansion and restructuring of the division's sales organization as FPI positions itself for growth in the foodservice segment....

Flow International. (People In The News).(Ron Tarrant retires)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Ron Tarrant has retired as chairman, CEO and board member of Flow International Corp., manufacturer of ultra-high-pressure waterjet technology for food-safety applications. Tarrant will continue to serve as president of the company while a...

Aurora Foods. (People In The News).(appointments)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Dale F. Morrison, a member of Aurora Food's board of directors, is now the company's chairman and CEO, succeeding James T. Smith. In other news, Aurora has promoted Michael J. Hojnacki to the newly created position of senior VP of marketing. In...

AmeriCold. (People In The News).(AmeriCold Logistics appoints David Israel)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... AmeriCold Logistics named David Israel VP of lead logistics services. He will develop an AmeriCold business unit providing value-added service for foodservice, retail and wholesale distributors.

Heatcraft. (People In The News).(appointments)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Heatcraft Refrigeration Products promoted Jeff Tindel to original equipment manufacturer sales director, responsible for all OEM and national account customers. He will also lead the OEM inside and field sales teams and the business development...

Hilo Fish Co. (People In The News).(Phil Walsh appointed)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Hilo Fish, a Hawaiian producer of fresh and frozen seafood marketed under the Krimson and Reel Fresh brands, appointed Phil Walsh managing director. He was seafood director for Harris Teeter and Stop and Shop and was most recently managing...

NSF International. (People In The News).(appointments)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... NSF International, The Public Health and Safety Company[TM], appointed William Fisher senior director of strategic business development, food safety, and Robert Frayer Jr. director of its physical and mechanical testing laboratory. He oversees...

Oceana. (People In The News).(Cornelius Gallagher promoted)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2002... Cornelius Gallagher was promoted to executive chef at New York City's Oceana restaurant, replacing Michael Schenk, who took the position upon Rick Moonen's departure.

Squat lobster. (Value-Added).
November 1, 2002... Ambassador Seafoods introduces frozen squat-lobster nuggets for foodservice. Squat lobsters, found in the Pacific around El Salvador, are available year-round and touted as an affordable alternative to shrimp, crab or larger lobster species....

Cakes as easy as pie. (Value-Added).
November 1, 2002... Phillips Foods now offers a crab-cake kit for retail. Contents include a 3.5-ounce container of crab-cake mix and an 8-ounce container of blue-swimming-crab meat. The mix contains mayonnaise, eggs, lemon juice and Phillips' seasoning blend. It...

Sushi with a twist. (Value-Added).
November 1, 2002... An innovation for foodservice operators from IceBrand Foods is Zushi[TM], westernized sushi rolls containing fully cooked ingredients. Four flavors are available: traditional California roll, Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese, Spicy Peanut and...

Perfect timing. (Temperature Monitors).
November 1, 2002... Cooking whole fish is made easier with Pop-Up[R] timers from Volk Enterprises. Checking whole fish for doneness can be tricky without cutting into it, which can spoil the presentation. A Pop-Up timer lets the cook know when the interior of the...

Safe travel. (Temperature Monitors).
November 1, 2002... The patented, wireless Freshsync in-transit data-logging system from FreshLoc Technologies not only monitors truck temperatures over the road but also alerts operators of problems during cooling in preparation for a trip or in temporary...

A paperless trail. (Temperature Monitors).
November 1, 2002... Dickson's HT125 data logger with 5-inch probe and waterproof, stainless-steel case can monitor and withstand temperatures from minus 40 to 257 degrees F. The logger meets HACCP requirements and is ideal for monitoring smokers, ovens and...

Pocket testers. (Temperature Monitors).
November 1, 2002... Cooper Instrument Corp. introduces a new digital, pocket family of test thermometers consisting of the all-new DFP450W and the improved DT300 and DPS300. The waterproof, bright "safety yellow" DFP450W features a temperature range of minus 40 to...

Safety solution. (Packaging).
November 1, 2002... DayMark[R] Food Safety Systems offers DayBag[TM] and UseBy[TM] portion bags to help foodservice operators stay on top of food rotation. Place prepped, pre-portioned food in color-coded DayBags and clear UseBy bags marked with clear indicators...

Bulk bags. (Packaging).
November 1, 2002... New, easy-to-load bulk storage bags from C&K Manufacturing and Sales let equipment run at top speed, increasing production efficiency. The bags' high-quality poly composition offers clarity, durability and puncture resistance. Popular...

Plastic program. (Packaging).
November 1, 2002... Eastman Chemical Co. helps retailers build sales with branded VersaTray dual-ovenable containers for prepared foods. The trays withstand temperatures from minus 40 to 400 degrees F and go straight from freezer to conventional or microwave oven....

Calendar 2002-03.(Calendar)
November 1, 2002... November Nov. 9-12 International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show Jacob K. Javits Convention Center New York City Contact Christian Falkenberg (914) 421-3296 www.hmrs.com Nov. 10-13 2nd International Seafood Byproducts...

Ken Homan: president, Braun Seafood. (One On One).(Interview)
November 1, 2002... The east end of New York's Long Island is home to the rich and famous, with multimillion-dollar "cottages," catered lawn parties and fancy restaurants. Braun Seafood, located in picturesque Cutchogue on the North Fork, is one of the largest...