Monday, March 3, 2008P
Business Toolbox: Branding
That’s not just a lobster, it’s a Maine lobster
ROCKPORT, Maine – A recurring theme at the 2008 Maine Fishermen's Forum taking place at the Samoset Resort in Rockport this past weekend has been the branding and marketing of Maine seafood as a means of strengthening the fishing industry.
The topic was addressed during the Maine Lobstermen's Association meeting Friday and in the seminar "Owning Your Product from Dock to Plate." It was also the major focus of a seminar given by Dane Somers, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council, to a standing room only crowd on Friday afternoon.
The purpose of the council is to effectively market Maine lobster both nationally and abroad. The council, however, has only recently begun saving the funds that would enable it to launch a highly effective marketing campaign, Somers said.
"We have a very strong industry," Somers said. But the council needs to market Maine lobster more effectively to give the industry "more bang for its buck," he said.
The Maine lobster brand is envied, Somers said. Consumers have a strong preference for Maine lobster, and it has an "amazing brand strength," he said.
The Maine lobster industry, however, is "not doing everything we can to take advantage of our brand," said Somers.
Recent changes in the industry's economy have adversely affected the profitability of the business for everyone involved, said Somers. Recent high costs of fuel for lobstermen, combined with historically high costs in production and distribution have resulted in "insufficient profitability in this industry for harvesters, dealers and processors," Somers said.
The problem will not be resolved by catching more lobsters, he said. (Lobster landings in 2007 were down 23 percent from 2006, according to data from the Maine Lobster Association.)
The way to fix the problem, Somers said, is to sell fewer lobsters at wholesale cost, and more at retail prices. The British retail giant has 55 stores open in the West, including six in Orange County. – Knox Valley Times
Business Toolbox: Your competitionr
The British are coming - but to stay?
Tina Andres can't get enough of the Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market in Orange, Calif.
Since opening in early December, the store has become the Santa Ana resident's go-to market for ready-to-eat meals, fresh juices and packaged meats.
"I don't think I've been to Albertsons or Ralphs since Fresh and Easy opened," said the mother of two.
Andres is exactly the kind of customer Tesco – the world's third largest retailer – had hoped to hook with its first American grocery concept. Stores target time-starved consumers looking for artisan breads, preservative-free foods and gourmet takeout dishes.
So far, 55 Fresh & Easy markets have opened in the West Coast, including six in Orange County. About 150 more are planned in the West.
Yet, despite developing a loyal crop of fans since launching in November under huge fanfare, Fresh & Easy faces some not–so-easy problems, critics and industry experts say.
This week, a Piper Jaffray analyst said Fresh & Easy sales are falling short by at least $30,000 a week. The report comes only days after a Florida-based supermarket consultant told a group of British investors that Tesco has miscalculated the needs of American shoppers with its confusing grocery concept.
Fresh & Easy's Chief Marketing Officer Simon Uwins balked at the recent doomsday reports.
"We've only been open for 100 days for goodness sakes," he said in a rare phone interview. "We're extremely encouraged by our sales, and customer numbers."
But, industry watchers say Fresh & Easy has missed the mark.
Among the chief problems: shoppers are put off by labels that often show perishable goods such as produce and takeout meals expiring within one or two days of purchase.
Many also complain that the stores are bare bones with very few brand selections.
"Fresh & Easy is trying to be an easy store," said Jim Prevor, a supermarket consultant and food writer. "It's hard to be convenient, if people don't feel (stores) meet their needs."
As a result, the 10,000-square-foot stores are often described as ghost towns with eager to please clerks often outnumbering shoppers. Prevor estimates that stores are generating average weekly sales of $50,000. The Piper Jaffray report was much more generous, predicting revenue of about $170,000 a week – just below Fresh & Easy's sales goal of $200,000.
Even Andres, the regular Fresh & Easy shopper, said the dates are confusing.
"It is hard to adjust to," said Andres. "I end up searching for the item with the longest period before expiration, which I think will hurt their business even more."
Uwins said the labels are meant to tell shoppers that certain foods – such as prepared meals – are "best" when eaten by the specified date. They are not expiration dates, he added.
Because the preservative free meals and fresh-squeezed juices are prepared daily in the chain's Riverside commissary, "date codes can be quite short," he said.
Fresh & Easy has already made a few tweaks in stores based on consumer feedback, Uwins said.
For example, the company recently added blue and brown stickers on prepared foods that state: "Suitable for freezing, Microwave from frozen."
They are meant to educate shoppers that prepared meals such as macaroni and cheese and pastas can be stored in the freezer and reheated later. This should ease any nervousness shoppers have about buying products that might not have time to eat, he said.
In the end, Uwins said shoppers actually enjoy these meals so much, they've demanded more. In response, Fresh & Easy added tangerine chicken and black cod & miso meals to the mix. More are on the way, he said.
Another change: end of the day price cuts on fresh produce, meats and seafood. For example, at a store in Orange last week, a 16-oz. carton of stemmed strawberries was on sale for $5.24, down from $6.99. Other items such as flank steak, and ribs were also marked down late in the afternoon. – Orange County Register
Business Toolbox: Regulatory battles
Farmed shrimp from Indian wins legal bout
A World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement panel delivered a victory to the Indian shrimp exporters when it ruled against the United States customs bond imposed on shrimp exporters from India.
Because of the bond, the Indian shrimp exporters had to incur prohibitive costs on their exports. The Indian exporters said it was an 'unreasonable' means of securing duties.
Until now, the US collected a minimum bond equivalent to 10 per cent of the import duties from other country exporters subject to dumping measures to pay. – Business Standard, India
Business Toolbox: Your consumers
Lenten traditions stand up against higher prices
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Plenty of fish, but no loaves, were piled this week in the kitchen of St. John Vianney School in Wyoming.
And with no small miracle of volunteer effort, the fish fed a multitude at the traditional Lenten Friday night fish fry -- a marvel repeated, feeding thousands, at parish and fraternal halls around the area.
Even considering that the main course is set by religious edict, the menus are remarkably similar: Fish, potatoes, cole slaw and camaraderie.
Born of religious devotion and nourished on community spirit, fish fries are a Lenten tradition strong enough to withstand market pressures that have pushed up fish prices 40 percent to 75 percent the past two years.
Organizers have raised prices and taken other measures, but Friday night remains a fish-feeding frenzy.
Higher costs might cut profits some, said Gordon Proulx, pastoral associate, music director and head fish guy at St. James Catholic Church on Bridge Street NW in Grand Rapids.
"But we're not as much concerned about that as about the community outreach, the fellowship of the parishioners, the camaraderie there. It's a neat thing," Proulx said.
Still, when a kitchen goes through literally a ton of fish in an evening -- St. James' record tally last year -- price hikes add up. A typical week's 900 to 1,000 diners eat as much as 1,500 pounds. Anticipating higher costs, St. James raised prices for adults by $1, to $8, leaving seniors and children at $6 and $4, respectively.
That pollock for frying went up from $49 a box last year to $57.60 this year.
Fish quotas being cut, the weak dollar, higher fuel costs and even packaging costs tied to petroleum all help boost fish prices, said Brian Mesman, purchasing manager at Superior Seafoods in Grand Rapids.
Ellis Stitch, seafood category manager at Gordon Food Service, said cod prices have risen from about $3.50 a pound to more than $5 the past two years, while pollock rose from around $2 to more than $3.50. -- Grand Rapids Press, Michigan
Tuesday, March 4, 2008P
Business Toolbox: Your supply
States may finally do something about Chesapeake blue crab
Hard to believe, but Maryland and Virginia are on the verge of doing something historic, heroic and long overdue.
Elected officials and regulators in both states, with guidance from scientists, appear ready to save Chesapeake Bay blue crabs.
Population studies warn the bay crab stock is on the brink of collapse. If the number drops below 86 million, there may not be enough crabs to rebuild.
Both states and Potomac River regulators share responsibility for managing and protecting blue crabs. But all they've managed to do so far is stop the plunge -- they think.
Sad to say, but over the years officials only lived up to half of Maryland's motto. "Manly Deeds" always lost out to "Womanly Words." It has been easier for Maryland to go through the motions while pointing fingers at Virginia and making its officials the butt of jokes.
By allowing watermen to catch 70 percent of the female crabs -- including pregnant ones -- and permitting the dredging of hibernating crabs in winter, Virginia seemed to relish its backward ways.
All that changed when the Virginia Marine Resources Commission approved a short-term protection plan that will allow blue crabs -- specifically the female ones -- to live long enough to make more crabs. The commission also made clear at its April 22 meeting that it intends to make deep, long-term cuts in the length of the winter season, size limits and the number of crab pots it allows in its portion of the bay.
Just like that, Maryland's easy-out vanished. No more blaming Virginia. No more "We won't act until Virginia does." No more nibbling around the edges.
The reason for the shift? Science, in all its stark ugliness, has reached critical mass.
The Chesapeake's crab population is 30 percent of what it was in 1991. Last season, Maryland commercial crabbers harvested a shade under 22 million pounds, the second lowest on record. Their Virginia counterparts caught a similar amount.
Biologists say no more than 46 percent of the bay's crabs should be harvested each year to allow the stock to replenish itself. But watermen, it appears, have exceeded that threshold in eight of the past 10 years. – Baltimore Sun
Business Toolbox: Your supply
Plan to rebuild Chesapeake oyster stocks
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A trade group is proposing its largest experiment to revive the Chesapeake Bay's oyster population, seeking to grow 1.3 million disease-resistant bivalves.
The Virginia Seafood Council proposal would "plant" the Asian oysters in the bay and on the Eastern Shore, starting June 1.
The seafood council has concluded the Asian species does not succumb to the same diseases that have nearly wiped out native stocks in recent decades.
The Asian variety is larger than the native oyster and grows to market size much quicker. Its taste is comparable to the bay's briny oysters.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission agreed to vote on the request following a public hearing in March in Newport News. The Army Corps of Engineers in Norfolk also must approve the experiment.— WDBJ7.com, Virginia
Business Toolbox: Department of Quaint Local Customs
Will you have fish with your wine?
GERAARDSBERGEN, Belgium: Taking a deep breath, Rudy Van Acker raises a silver chalice to his pursed lips, hesitates ever so slightly, then takes a sip before downing the contents in a couple of swift gulps.
Van Acker, the senior Roman Catholic priest in this rural area of Flanders, is undertaking one of his more unusual pastoral duties: drinking live fish, washed down with red wine.
For centuries, thousands of revelers in this part of Belgium have celebrated the Krakelingen festival -- named after the bread that will be thrown to the townspeople. The pageant, commemorating the onset of spring, combines pagan and Christian symbols and culminates in the consumption of tiny live fish immersed in red wine at a ceremony presided over by three men dressed as druids.
The ritual has aroused the fury of animal rights campaigners, who claim it is cruel and anachronistic and have succeeded in limiting the number of people who can down the fish to around two dozen a year. But so far, they have failed to get the practice banned altogether or to force the revelers to electrocute the fish before they are removed from their tanks.
Divisions between French speakers in the south and Flemish speakers in the north are eroding Belgium's national identity, even raising the prospect of the breakup of this fragile nation of 10 million people. Perhaps as a consequence, Belgian municipalities and regions cling ever harder to customs that set them apart from their neighbors.
"This is in our tradition," said Guido De Padt, a former mayor of Geraardsbergen, as he walked in the bright sunshine dressed in historical costume complete with false sideburns to the fish-drinking ceremony. "It's in our genes."
Geraardsbergen, a rural town of around 30,000 people, lies within 10 kilometers, or about 6 miles, of Francophone territory near the edge of Belgium's linguistic fault line. It is thus one of the most southern outposts of Dutch speakers in Europe. – International Herald Tribune, Paris
Business Toolbox: Pricing
Fisherman catches hugely expensive fish
BEIJING -- A fisherman in China's Zhejiang province has netted a fish that, according to local tradition, may sell for over 1 million yuan (about $140,000 U.S.).
Li Shaoshuang, from Cangnan county of the coastal province, caught it in his Saturday's first cast while working offshore nearby the Xiangshan harbor.
"It is dark brown all over, 1.2-meter long and 15-kg in weight," said the veteran fisherman Li who has already frozen the fish. "It's my first time to see this kind of fish."
A fellow 60-year-old fisherman who came with others to Li to get a glance of the fish told him in great surprise that it is Bahaba flavolabiata (Chinese bahaba) which have disappeared from the site for at least 50 years.
Due to its extreme scarcity, the air bladder of Chinese bahaba is said to be as expensive as gold in weight. More than a decade ago, another fisherman of the same county caught a Chinese bahaba of less than 3.5 kg but fetched for more than 100,000.
Therefore, fishermen on the scene urged Li to ask for at least 1 million for his.
To make sure it is a sky-high pricing Chinese bababa, the fishermen sent for an aquatic research institution expert the next day, who uttered the appearance should tell it's a Chinese bahaba no doubt, but, still, a dissection is needed to make sure it is not another species similar to Chinese bahaba.
Li declined the expert's suggestion in fear that it would ruin the fish and lower the selling price. He also turned down a fish vendor's offer of 500,000 for this queer fish, making it clear he would not let it go for less than 1 million. – Xinhua, China
Wednesday, March 5, 2008P
Yes, they catch perch in Canada
Canadian cookbook guru Anita Stewart was recently in Point Edward (Ontario) to spend time at Purdy's Fisheries.
No, she was not in pursuit of new fish recipes for her next publication. Instead, Stewart was there to educate herself about the fishery and how it provides fresh Lake Huron fish year-round to the Ontario market.
Stewart has not only written 14 cookbooks, she also bills herself as a culinary activist.
These days, her mantra is "buy local."
Stewart told Stephanie Purdy, the fishery's manager/marketer, that the fishery caught her attention because she had no idea until recently that there was a commercial fishery of any size operating year round on the Great Lakes.
Purdy laughs when she talks about it because she is the first to admit that many Sarnia-Lambton residents don't even realize the fishery is in Point Edward and that fresh fish comes in virtually every day on the Purdy's boats.
"A large part of our job is educating people," Purdy says. She can list on one hand the number of local restaurants that carry Purdy's fish.
But most of Purdy's catch is sent directly to wholesalers in the United States.
The family-operated fishery has contracts with the Plitt Company in Chicago, one of the largest wholesalers in North America. They also sell wholesale to a number of customers in New York City where restaurant-goers have enjoyed Lake Huron white fish from Purdy's for years and years. – Sarnia Observer, Canada
Business Toolbox: Honesty
Editorial: Tell us where seafood comes from
Anyone ordering a plate of catfish at an Alabama restaurant, or buying a fish for home cooking, should be able to know where the fish came from.
Within the past couple of years, Alabama agricultural officials have taken action against Vietnamese and Chinese fish exports. Basa and tra were mislabeled as catfish by Vietnamese exporters; and catfish from both countries were found to be contaminated with the antibiotic fluoroquinolones, a potential carcinogen which U.S. farmers are banned from using.
Indeed, there's more than enough reason to question imported fish, which is why the Legislature should pass bills to require restaurants and other retailers to post country-of-origin and other information for catfish they're sellingA competing bill that would give consumers the right to find out country of origin by asking restaurant and other retail personnel doesn't go far enough. Consumers shouldn't have the burden placed on them. Restaurants, grocery stores and fish shops should provide the information upfront on menus and in advertising.
Granted, if retailers have to admit to selling fish from Vietnam, China or another foreign country, they may not get the volume of business they want. But that's the point. It's understandable if customers don't want to purchase foreign catfish when Alabama catfish farms have trustworthy fish to sell.
The law would protect consumers and push retailers to buy Alabama catfish, one of Alabama's more important agricultural products. – Birmingham, (Alabama) Press Register
Business Toolbox: Celebrity chefs I
Michelin chef turns his attention to lowly fish
LONDON -- Fish ‘n chips is one of Britain’s favorite traditional dishes, a classic dating back to the 19th century that even Charles Dickens gave a nod to in “Oliver Twist.”
Typically it is made with cod, haddock or plaice -- deep fried in batter -- and served with salty and vinegary chips or sometimes mushy peas.
“Deep fried” doesn’t sound particuarly nutritious but, David Audley, president of the Federation of Fish Friers insists it is a healthy dish, with fewer calories than most other fast food.
“If you are on a diet and want a take away meal – fish and chips will help you more than hinder you,” he said, noting that the fish and potatoes are fresh and there are no additives.
The cheap and cheeful dish has never been synonymous with gourmet eating, but that has changed with the opening, in Fulham (west London) of Tom’s Place, the latest venture from Michelin-starred chef, Tom Aikens who has sought to take humble fish and chips upmarket.
His menu offers take-out and dining options with fish served from “sustainable sources,” meaning that he is cooking with more exotic fare such as gurnard, pollack, and ling. -- International Herald Tribune, Paris
Business Toolbox: Celebrity chefs II
Fish cook joins the Michelin crowd
MARSEILLE, France — Gerald Passedat, a chef with a special knack for fish aptly based on the shores of the Mediterranean, is the new kid on the block joining France's elite league of three-star Michelin chefs.
Now ranked good enough to pull off the food bible's top-of-the-class rating, Passedat's seafront Marseille restaurant, Le Petit Nice, had already been discovered by the likes of Iggy Pop, Joe Cocker, Sting and the late Luciano Pavarotti.
Yet it took the self-trained chef who now heads a team of 49 people decades to find his style.
He told AFP he felt "a great joy and a certain pride" to be admitted to the lofty three-star club, but insisted "the star is not an end in itself."
The Mediterranean became his "vegetable-garden", as he puts it. He contacted small local fishermen as suppliers. "The incredible freshness, the quality! Fish that have never been on ice have a flesh that is entirely different." – APF
Thursday, March 6, 2008P
Business Toolbox: New products
Aw shucks! Lobster without the shell
BOSTON - New Englanders believe you have to earn your dinner when it comes to lobster, and folks from Maine and Cape Cod especially look down on so-called Lazy Man's Lobster, in which the meat is taken out of the shell before being served.
But new technology sometimes changes attitudes: Two Maine lobster companies exhibiting at the International Boston Seafood Show were selling lobster dishes that used a high-pressure technology to separate lobsters from their shells.
With less effort than it takes to turn a page in a recipe book, the professional or home chef can have raw meat that can be used to create succulently tender dishes or to provide the basis for ready-to-eat dishes that don't get rubbery on reheating.
While Linda L. Bean can only hope to duplicate the success of her grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, who founded a little clothing company in 1912 in Freeport, Maine, now worth $1.5 billion, she does makes a mean lobster stew.
Bean, who owns a wharf in Port Clyde, Maine, packages the stew under her own brand name, Port Clyde Lobster Products. Like many of the smaller entrepreneurs at the Boston Seafood Show, the largest such show in North America, Bean did not have her product on retail shelves yet. She was in Boston hoping to attract buyers from midsized chain stores selling gourmet foods. Bean recently pitched her stew on the QVC network at $61 for two 1-pound bags. She said the stew could be portioned out into two meal-size servings, or four appetizer portions.
Bean gets her lobster meat from Shucks Maine Lobster, located in Richmond, Maine. Shucks chief operating officer Charlie Langston was at the seafood show previewing ready-to-eat products his company is looking to get into retail stores.
His plant uses an 80,000-pound, two-story-high shucking machine. Made by Avure Technologies in Washington state and Sweden, the shucker originally was designed to disinfect shellfish by subjecting them to cold water under high pressure.
But technologists found that the process also loosened the shellfish from their shells. They'd inadvertently invented a big shucking machine that also killed microbes and bacteria.
The so-called Big Shucker was able to do the same for lobster, and Shucks bought a machine three years ago that has helped revolutionize how people think about lobsters. – Cape Cod Times
Business Toolbox: Retailer seeks Green certification
British company seeking MSC certification
Whitby Seafoods has announced it is to enter its fishery into the full assessment process against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, in order to ensure the sustainability of its scampi.
According to the company, scampi has had somewhat of a resurgence with the recent consumer trend towards more traditional foods. Research reveals that 61% of consumers favour traditional British cuisine when eating out with scampi and chips in the top five dishes served in pubs, and retail figures position scampi as the fourth most consumed fish eaten in the home.
However, scientific research about dwindling fish stocks in some areas has left consumers in doubt about which fish is sustainable and safe to eat.
To help consumers make a worry free choice, Whitby Seafoods has entered a 12 month long assessment with the MSC which, if successful, will allow the fishery to display the distinctive MSC eco-label on its scampi products. – Fish Update
Business Toolbox: Your competition
Cod farm collapses
The failure of Shetland cod farming business No Catch has started to bite locally with nine island employees losing their jobs earlier this week.
Administrators Daniel Smith and Robert Caven, of Grant Thornton, laid off 13 people in total on Monday, including four office staff in Edinburgh.
The cod farming pioneers had to call in the administrators last month when the company ran out of cash with debts of more than £40 million ($80.3 million).
The world's first organic cod farm had around 130 employees and operated offices in at least six locations when it had to call in the administrators. – Shetland Marine News, UK
Business Toolbox: Another quaint local custom
Be happy, slap a friend with a fish
Residents of a small town in Belgium have been taking part in a carnival which advocates hitting neighbours with pig bladders or slapping friends with wet fish.
Participants live in the town of Stavelot, in the Ardennes region, and march along the streets dressed in white sheets and long carrot noses.
It is a re-enactment of a demonstration that took place in the town centuries ago.
In the 16th century, the then prince decreed that religious men could not mix with ordinary folk during the town's annual carnival.
To demonstrate their displeasure, the people of the town walked through the procession dressed as monks.
When the prince stopped them from doing this, the people changed the colour of the robes from brown to white and put on masks with giant noses to hide their faces.
They became known as the "Blanc Moussis". – ITN, UK
Business Toolbox: Collateral
And which beer goes best with fish?
But pairing beer with other foods can be confusing to the novice. What beer brings out the boldness of Szechuan pork? Or what goes best with sushi?
The following are a few general guidelines for harmonious pairing of beer styles and food:
Light ales: The lightness calms the kick of spicy foods, while at the same time complementing lighter foods such as chicken, salmon and salads.
• Amber lager: A good choice for hearty, spicy foods such as chili or Mexican food.
• Wheat or Witbier: Best with lighter foods, such as salads, sushi and seafood.
• Amber: A match for pizza, spicy food, burgers and anything topped with tangy cheese. Amber can taste hoppy, so it does not go well with sweet flavors.
• Pale bock: A bold beer that stands up well to spicy Thai or Korean, and with hearty American favorites such as fried chicken.
• Brown ale: A beer for hearty foods, from smoked sausages and stews to pork and beef.
• Dry stouts: Another made-for-beef, heavy-meal choice. But it is also a classic with raw oysters.
• Porter: A favorite at barbecue joints. Pairs well with hearty meals, such as smoked ribs and beef. Goes well with blackened seafood.
• Hefeweizen: A classic sidekick for weisswurst, but it also goes well with lighter fare such as salads, fish and sushi.
• Pilsner: Enhances flavor of firm fish or shellfish, chicken or salads. – Arizona Republic
Friday, March 7, 2008P
Business Toolbox: New products
Aw shucks! Lobster without the shell
BOSTON - New Englanders believe you have to earn your dinner when it comes to lobster, and folks from Maine and Cape Cod especially look down on so-called Lazy Man's Lobster, in which the meat is taken out of the shell before being served.
But new technology sometimes changes attitudes: Two Maine lobster companies exhibiting at the International Boston Seafood Show were selling lobster dishes that used a high-pressure technology to separate lobsters from their shells.
With less effort than it takes to turn a page in a recipe book, the professional or home chef can have raw meat that can be used to create succulently tender dishes or to provide the basis for ready-to-eat dishes that don't get rubbery on reheating.
While Linda L. Bean can only hope to duplicate the success of her grandfather, Leon Leonwood Bean, who founded a little clothing company in 1912 in Freeport, Maine, now worth $1.5 billion, she does makes a mean lobster stew.
Bean, who owns a wharf in Port Clyde, Maine, packages the stew under her own brand name, Port Clyde Lobster Products. Like many of the smaller entrepreneurs at the Boston Seafood Show, the largest such show in North America, Bean did not have her product on retail shelves yet. She was in Boston hoping to attract buyers from midsized chain stores selling gourmet foods. Bean recently pitched her stew on the QVC network at $61 for two 1-pound bags. She said the stew could be portioned out into two meal-size servings, or four appetizer portions.
Bean gets her lobster meat from Shucks Maine Lobster, located in Richmond, Maine. Shucks chief operating officer Charlie Langston was at the seafood show previewing ready-to-eat products his company is looking to get into retail stores.
His plant uses an 80,000-pound, two-story-high shucking machine. Made by Avure Technologies in Washington state and Sweden, the shucker originally was designed to disinfect shellfish by subjecting them to cold water under high pressure.
But technologists found that the process also loosened the shellfish from their shells. They'd inadvertently invented a big shucking machine that also killed microbes and bacteria.
The so-called Big Shucker was able to do the same for lobster, and Shucks bought a machine three years ago that has helped revolutionize how people think about lobsters. – Cape Cod Times
Business Toolbox: Retailer seeks Green certification
British company seeking MSC certification
Whitby Seafoods has announced it is to enter its fishery into the full assessment process against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, in order to ensure the sustainability of its scampi.
According to the company, scampi has had somewhat of a resurgence with the recent consumer trend towards more traditional foods. Research reveals that 61% of consumers favour traditional British cuisine when eating out with scampi and chips in the top five dishes served in pubs, and retail figures position scampi as the fourth most consumed fish eaten in the home.
However, scientific research about dwindling fish stocks in some areas has left consumers in doubt about which fish is sustainable and safe to eat.
To help consumers make a worry free choice, Whitby Seafoods has entered a 12 month long assessment with the MSC which, if successful, will allow the fishery to display the distinctive MSC eco-label on its scampi products. – Fish Update
Business Toolbox: Your competition
Cod farm collapses
The failure of Shetland cod farming business No Catch has started to bite locally with nine island employees losing their jobs earlier this week.
Administrators Daniel Smith and Robert Caven, of Grant Thornton, laid off 13 people in total on Monday, including four office staff in Edinburgh.
The cod farming pioneers had to call in the administrators last month when the company ran out of cash with debts of more than £40 million ($80.3 million).
The world's first organic cod farm had around 130 employees and operated offices in at least six locations when it had to call in the administrators. – Shetland Marine News, UK
Business Toolbox: Another quaint local custom
Be happy, slap a friend with a fish
Residents of a small town in Belgium have been taking part in a carnival which advocates hitting neighbours with pig bladders or slapping friends with wet fish.
Participants live in the town of Stavelot, in the Ardennes region, and march along the streets dressed in white sheets and long carrot noses.
It is a re-enactment of a demonstration that took place in the town centuries ago.
In the 16th century, the then prince decreed that religious men could not mix with ordinary folk during the town's annual carnival.
To demonstrate their displeasure, the people of the town walked through the procession dressed as monks.
When the prince stopped them from doing this, the people changed the colour of the robes from brown to white and put on masks with giant noses to hide their faces.
They became known as the "Blanc Moussis". – ITN, UK
Business Toolbox: Collateral
And which beer goes best with fish?
But pairing beer with other foods can be confusing to the novice. What beer brings out the boldness of Szechuan pork? Or what goes best with sushi?
The following are a few general guidelines for harmonious pairing of beer styles and food:
Light ales: The lightness calms the kick of spicy foods, while at the same time complementing lighter foods such as chicken, salmon and salads.
• Amber lager: A good choice for hearty, spicy foods such as chili or Mexican food.
• Wheat or Witbier: Best with lighter foods, such as salads, sushi and seafood.
• Amber: A match for pizza, spicy food, burgers and anything topped with tangy cheese. Amber can taste hoppy, so it does not go well with sweet flavors.
• Pale bock: A bold beer that stands up well to spicy Thai or Korean, and with hearty American favorites such as fried chicken.
• Brown ale: A beer for hearty foods, from smoked sausages and stews to pork and beef.
• Dry stouts: Another made-for-beef, heavy-meal choice. But it is also a classic with raw oysters.
• Porter: A favorite at barbecue joints. Pairs well with hearty meals, such as smoked ribs and beef. Goes well with blackened seafood.
• Hefeweizen: A classic sidekick for weisswurst, but it also goes well with lighter fare such as salads, fish and sushi.
• Pilsner: Enhances flavor of firm fish or shellfish, chicken or salads. – Arizona Republic
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