by Cooke Aquaculture
Posted: Friday, January 20, 2012 at 3:48PM EST

Three True North Salmon processing facilities have been certified for food quality and safety by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the global leader in product safety and quality certification.

The True North Salmon whole fish processing facility in Blacks Harbour, NB, the processing facility in St. George, NB producing, fresh fillets, portions and tray packed products and the Atlantic Fish Specialties facility in Charlottetown, PEI, producing cold and hot smoked salmon and trout were certified to the BRC Global Standard for Food Safety this week after an extensive audit process.

True North Salmon Company is the processing, sales and marketing division of New Brunswick-based Cooke Aquaculture Inc.

“This is great for us as a company but the big winners here are the people who eat our fish and the retailers and chefs who sell it,” said Cooke Aquaculture, CEO Glenn Cooke.

“The BRC certification is known and trusted around the world and it offers confidence to consumers that the facilities that process their food meet the highest standards.”

The BRC publishes a set of standards that meets or exceeds all the requirements set forth by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). The BRC Global Standard is a leading product safety and quality certification program
used by manufacturers in over 100 countries.

The BRC is committed to continuous improvement of its food safety standards and demands the same improvement from the facilities they certify.

The BRC certification complements the Seafood Trust Eco Label and Certified Quality Salmon certifications Cooke has already achieved for these same facilities. Seafood Trust Eco certification is another level of assurance with a focus on environmental performance.

As increasing numbers of retailers in Europe and North America demand thirdparty certification of the companies that supply them, the BRC has emerged as a trusted, independent certification source. Many retailers and brand owners throughout North America and Europe will only consider business with suppliers who have earned the appropriate BRC certification.

“Seafood vendors, chefs and families all want to know more about how their food got to their store or their plate and they want the assurance that a third-party certification can provide,” said Alan Craig, VP Sales for True North Salmon.

“Certification through the BRC is extremely helpful for our True North Salmon division because the audit process tells us what we’re doing well and where we can improve. Our teams are very proud of this certification because it’s an acknowledgement of a job well done. This is a big deal for us at Cooke and for True North Salmon and our customers,” Craig said.

The Blacks Harbour facility is the first stop in the processing line for True North Salmon’s farmed salmon. Once harvested from the ocean farms, the salmon goes to the Blacks Harbour facility for cleaning and dressing. The whole fish are then sent to the True North Salmon value added facility in St. George where they are cut into fresh fillets, portions and tray packed products. The facility also adds spices and flavouring to some of those products. Atlantic Fish Specialties in Charlottetown is True North Salmon’s smoked and specialty seafood products facility where smoked salmon and other ready-to-eat foods are made.

“The BRC standards for ready-to-eat products are extremely tough, and they should be,” Cooke said. “So we’re really proud of the Atlantic Fish Specialties team, and all our teams, for this achievement.”

ABOUT BRC GLOBAL STANDARDS

The BRC Global Standards are a leading global safety and quality certification program, used throughout the world by over 17,000 certificated suppliers in 90 countries through a network of over 80 accredited and BRC recognized
Certification Bodies. The BRC Global Standards are widely used by suppliers and global retailers. They facilitate standardization of quality, safety, operational criteria and manufacturers’ fulfillment of legal obligations. They also help provide protection to the consumer. www.brcglobalstandards.com

ABOUT COOKE AQUACULTURE

Cooke Aquaculture Inc. is an east coast family-owned company based in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick with operations in Atlantic Canada and Maine. The company’s sales and marketing division, True North Salmon, sells a broad spectrum seafood products into the Canadian and US markets including fresh fillets, portions and tray packed products as well as cold and hot smoked salmon and trout.

Over the past twenty-five years the Cooke family has built a fully integrated aquaculture company with more than $500 million in annual sales and management over its entire salmon farming value chain – from egg to plate. Cooke also owns Salmones Cupquelan, a salmon farming company in southern Chile, sold under the Heritage Salmon Brand in North America and Culmarex Group, a sea bass and sea bream farming company in Spain. www.cookeaqua.com

Source: Cooke Aquaculture

food safety, fresh seafood

For Immediate Release: Contact: Michael Drewniak
Kevin Roberts
Date: 06/30/2011 609-777-2600
Trenton, NJ – First Lady Mary Pat Christie declared Scott Anderson of elements in Princeton the winner of the 2011 Jersey Seafood Challenge for his signature dish that featured fluke with garlic scapes, panko, arrowhead cabbage and herbaceous vinaigrette. As the champion, Anderson will represent New Jersey at the Great American Seafood Cook-off in New Orleans in August. Today’s competition was held in the gardens at Drumthwacket.

“New Jersey has a vibrant and thriving seafood industry,” said Mrs. Christie. “These talented chefs prepared an outstanding lineup of dishes that demonstrated the superior quality of our bountiful Jersey Seafood and Jersey Fresh produce. Thanks to all sixteen competitors and the restaurants they represent for participating today and congratulations to Scott Anderson. I am confident he will showcase our Jersey pride representing the Garden State in New Orleans later this summer.”

A native of the Garden State, Scott Anderson spent part of his youth in Japan where the exposure to foreign tastes and flavors left a lasting impact. He began his career as a line cook at Baystreet Grill in Edison and later joined the Terra Momo restaurant group. There, he spent six years at Teresa Caffe before becoming head chef at Mediterra in Princeton, and later at Nova Terra in New Brunswick. He has also worked at The Ryland Inn with Chef Craig Shelton. In October 2008, he opened elements. Relying on the seasons, the inspiration and the bounty of the farm, Chef Anderson continually improvises when creating a menu.

“At elements, we think of our dishes as canvases and paint what feels right, while staying grounded in the essence of the ingredients,” said Chef Anderson. “So, I am looking forward to the competition in New Orleans and being inspired by the diverse, local ingredients to create a new experience.”

Other chefs who participated in the cook-off sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Agriculture included: Christopher Albrecht, Eno Terra and Enoteca, Kingston; Mitchell Altholz, Highlawn Pavilion, West Orange; Michael John Chu, Mehtani Restaurant Group, Morristown; Chris Curado, Chakra Restaurant, Paramus; Kevin Guinta, Plate American Café, Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City; Demetrios Haronis, Fin (Tropicana Hotel Casino), Atlantic City; Michael Inferrera, Mia (Caesar’s Hotel and Casino), Atlantic City; J. Geoffrey Johnson, Copper Fish on Broadway, West Cape May; Sofia Karakasidou, Kuzina by Sofia, Cherry Hill; Jack Koumbis, Assembly Steak House and Seafood Grill, Englewood Cliffs; James Laird, Restaurant Serenade, Chatham; Will Mooney, The Brothers Moon Restaurant, Hopewell; Elizabeth Penn, Student Chef, Academy of Culinary Arts, Atlantic-Cape Community College, Mays Landing; David Suscavage, The Foundation Room (Showboat Hotel and Casino), Atlantic City and Kevin Taylor, Los Amigos Restaurant, West Berlin. Second-runner up in the competition was Christopher Albrecht of Eno Terra in Kingston; third runner up was Kevin Guinta of Plate American Cafe at Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City and fourth runner up was Kevin Taylor of Los Amigos Restaurant in West Berlin.

The Great American Seafood Cook-off is limited to 20 chefs with the champion being named King or Queen of American Seafood. The cook-off is televised by the Food Network and is part of the Louisiana Foodservice Expo.

“Consumers are demanding local and we are proud to partner with our state’s chefs and restaurants to serve dishes featuring top quality seafood, vegetables, fruits and herbs caught or grown by our New Jersey fishermen or farmers,” said New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher. “Eating Jersey Seafood provides many health benefits and there is a great variety, with 100 different species of fish and shellfish caught or harvested by local fishermen and fish farmers. We hope all residents will be inspired to cook Jersey Seafood along with Jersey Fresh produce or head to a local restaurant and ask for these local varieties from the Garden State.”

Judging the competition were First Lady Mary Pat Christie; Secretary of Agriculture Douglas H. Fisher; Jennifer Monaco, Club Managers Association of New Jersey; Bill Tillinghast, Vice President, American Culinary Foundation-Northeast Region; Jim Weaver, President, New Jersey Slow Food Movement; Larry Frazer, American Culinary Foundation-Princeton; David Burke, Fromagerie, Rumson and board member of the New Jersey Restaurant Association; Peter Genovese, Star-Ledger “Munch-Mobile” and Ed Coss, Milford Oyster House.

Also on hand was Nicholas Davidson of Gusto Grill in East Brunswick, who created The Garden State of Mine, the winning cocktail of the 2011 New Jersey Restaurant Association’s Mixologist of the year competition.

Sponsors of the Jersey Seafood Challenge include Anheuser Busch, New Jersey Restaurant Association, Garden State Seafood Association, Atlantic Cape Fisheries, Inc., Barney’s Dock, Cape May Foods, Dock Street Seafood, Fisherman’s Dock Co-Op, Inc., Harbor House Seafood, Lund’s Fisheries, Inc., The Lobster House and Viking Village.

New Jersey’s seafood industry positively impacts the Garden State economy in many ways. For instance, in 2008, combined sales from commercial harvesters, seafood processors and dealers, seafood wholesalers and distributors and the retail sector added up to more than $2 billion. The industry also generates more than 40,000 jobs, with 2,000 commercial fishermen, and 1,380 employed by seafood processors/dealers; 4,176 by seafood wholesalers/distributors; and 32,426 by the retail sector.

Home to six major fishing ports, New Jersey fishermen reeled in 161.6 million pounds of seafood in 2009, valued at more than $149 million at all port combined. Four ports rank among the top 15 ports on the Eastern Seaboard – Cape May (3rd), Atlantic City (9th), Barnegat Light (10th) and Point Pleasant (11th). And, Cape May is the fifth largest port in the nation, hauling in 63.9 million pounds of seafood valued at $73.4 million.

New Jersey fishermen land more than 100 varieties of finfish and shellfish. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ranked the state first in the nation for pounds of shellfish landed in 2009, with $28.3 million pounds valued at $8.1 million. The state also ranked first in the landings of clams or bivalves, with 45.3 million pounds worth $27.5 million. In 2009, New Jersey ranked second in the nation in scallop landings with 14 million pounds valued at $90.1 million.

For more information about New Jersey seafood, visit the Jersey Seafood website at www.jerseyseafood.nj.gov.

PHOTO CAPTION 1: First Lady Mary Pat Christie judges entry in New Jersey Seafood Challenge

PHOTO CAPTION 2: First Lady Mary Pat Christie, Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher and New Jersey Restaurant Association President Deborah Dowdell gather with entrants of New Jersey Seafood Challenge at Drumthwacket

http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/552011/approved/20110630d.html

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By Terry Retter

food safety, frozen seafood

Hollywood, FL
Monday, June 06, 2011
Debra Holtzman

Preparing fresh, healthy and safe foods is a top priority for most families. “But, it all begins with being a smart shopper at the grocery store, farmer’s market, or supermarket”, says Debra Holtzman, J.D., M.A., an internationally acclaimed safety and health expert and best-selling author of The Safe Baby: A Do-It-Yourself Guide to Home Safety and Healthy Living (Sentient Publications, 2009). About 48 million people (1 in 6 Americans) get sick and 3,000 die each year from foodborne diseases, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.%

food safety, fresh seafood, Industry Press Release

http://www.thedowneypatriot.com/view/full_story/15444181/article-Frozen-seafood-seized-by-FDA?instance=2_home_health_wellness

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals last month seized seafood products manufactured by the Meiko Food Co. of South El Monte because the products are adulterated.

A complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Meiko Foods manufactures and packages ready-to-eat seafood, including cooked seafood balls and fried fish cakes, without having a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan in place, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

The HACCP program is a science-based system of preventive controls for food safety that was designed to increase the margin of safety for U.S. consumers, and to reduce the potential for illnesses to the lowest possible levels.

FDA regulations require commercial processors of fish and fishery products to conduct a hazard analysis to determine whether there are potential food safety hazards and to identify and develop preventive measures to control those hazards.

The FDA issued a warning letter to Meiko Food on Nov. 3, 2010, for not having a HACCP plan in place. A subsequent FDA inspection conducted between April and May 2011 revealed that the firm did not correct the deviations cited in the November 2010 warning letter, including significant HACCP deviations.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with these products.

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Chile’s Food Exports to the European Union Grew By 42% in the Past Five Years

SANTIAGO, Chile, October 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –

Chilean food exports to the European Union grew by 42% over the past five years. Sales climbed from US$ 1,618 million in 2006 to US$ 2,304 million in 2010. Of all the food exported by the South American country to the EU, 34% was fruit (fresh, frozen and dehydrated), followed by wine (29%) and seafood (16%).

Chile’s total food and beverage exports have exhibited a sustained increase during the last 10 years. Except for the decline that occurred in 2009 due to the international financial crisis, a growth rate of 137% was recorded between 2000 and 2010, with total exports approaching US$ 11,700 million for 2010. The Chilean goal, for which an intense private-public effort is being implemented, is to position Chile among the 10 leading food-exporting countries in the world, with annual shipments that could be as high as US$ 20,000 million in 2015.

In this context, Chile is expecting to keep increasing its exports of food products to the European Union. At an event organized by the Chilean delegation for ANUGA 2011 (one of the largest food fairs in the world held every two years in Cologne, Germany, which was attended by some 40 Chilean companies in 2011), Chile’s ambassador to Germany, Jorge O’Ryan said: “We realize we have to work very hard to achieve excellence in food production, diversifying our products, moving forward with environmentally sustainable production — creating a supply that doesn’t cause damage, with investments in agricultural and livestock technology and training for a labor force that produces profitable value chains that are well integrated between production and final markets.”

In Europe, concerns grow each day regarding environmental issues, people’s health, food safety and innovation. With regard to this last point, Ambassador O’Ryan emphasized that “We have established a strategic alliance with Germany to set up in Chile the first center of the Fraunhofer company in Latin America, which will give the country prominence as a platform for innovation in the region.” Indeed, one of the focal points of the work of the Fraunhofer Chile Research Center for Systems Biotechnology will be agribusiness.

For Chile, the European Union represents the second-place destination for its total exports. Antonio Dominguez, Director de Chilealimentos also sees good prospects in Europe for Chilean food exports. “I thought that at ANUGA I would find clients who were very pessimistic because of the economic situation on the continent. I thought they would not want to buy, or make long-term decisions, and yet the perception I’ve come away with these days is that they are going to continue buying, so I see a good future for our shipments,” he says as he assesses efforts to date. In his opinion, the Chilean food industry has been gaining in competitiveness, which is now enabling this sector to establish better terms as it comes up against European producers.

To Andres Rodriguez, Executive President of Chilean Walnut and Executive Vice President of Chilean Dried Plums, the Economic Association Agreement between Chile and the European Union has been one of the elements facilitating Chilean exports to the EU. “The accessibility of Chile, both in terms of tariff conditions as well as the level of trust among their economies, has come to figure in the export-import relationship, giving rise to very strong commercial ties that are increasingly fruitful,” he notes.

Sources at ProChile, the Chilean government agency charged with promoting exports, let it be known that they will continue to work in areas of growing demand in Europe, such as functional, organic foods, and products requiring certification such as halal, kosher, or with the seal associated with fair trade.

With regard to environmental concerns in these markets, as far as the distance to distribution centers is concerned, it is not a limiting factor that affects the carbon footprint of these exports, since the emissions of greenhouse gases related to the transportation of Chilean products is substantially lower than that of goods produced and sold in Europe. This is chiefly due to the fact that 90% of Chile’s exports travel by ship, whose efficiency is 3.2 times greater than the ground transport used in Europe and the United States.

CHILE NEUTRALIZES CARBON FOOTPRINT AT FOOD AND BEVERAGE FAIRS

As an extension of this approach, and as a practical measure, starting in 2011, ProChile is also neutralizing the carbon footprint resulting from Chile’s participation in the world’s food and beverage fairs, measuring all CO2 emissions these events generate in the categories of international and domestic transport of the entire Chilean delegation, the shipment of materials and/or samples, energy consumption in the pavilion, as well as trash generated.

Since February of 2011 up until now, six of Chile’s international events have had the equivalent of 1,855 tons of CO2 emissions neutralized: Fruit Logistica 2011 (Berlin), Biofach 2011 (Nuremberg), Prowein (Dusseldorf), London Wine (London), Carbon Expo (Barcelona) and Fancy Food Show (Washington). In doing this, Chile is seeking to reconcile the interests of economic growth, social wellbeing and the environmental sustainability of the country, consistent with its commitment to mitigate the effects of climate change.

EUROPEAN MARKET ANALYSIS

In 2010, total Chilean exports to member countries of the European Union were US$ 12,226 million, which represented a growth of 25% over the previous year. As for imports from the EU, during the same period they came to US$ 7,561 million. Commercial exchange added up to US$ 19,787.

In 2010, Chilean exports to the European Union were chiefly concentrated in the Manufacturing Sector, with a share of 54%, followed by the Mining Sector (15%); Agricultural Foodstuffs (10%); the Forest Industry (8%); Wines (6%), Seafood (3%) and Services and Other (2)%. During the first six months of 2011, Chilean exports to the EU totaled US$ 8,010 million

Department of the National and International Press at ProChile

Source of statistical information: ProChile based on figures from Global Trade Atlas, the National Customs Service and the Banco Central de Chile.

Distributed by PR Newswire on behalf of ProChile

Contact details for all releases are only available to the media via PR Newswire for Journalists.

food safety, seafood

Fresh seafood preparation on youtube

food safety, fresh seafood, frozen seafood, seafood

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Distribution and habitat

Extant catfish species live in inland or coastal waters of every continent except Antarctica. Catfish have inhabited all continents at one time or another. Catfish are most diverse in tropical South America, Africa, and Asia. More than half of all catfish species live in the Americas. They are the only ostariophysans that have entered freshwater habitats in Madagascar, Australia, and New Guinea.

They are found in freshwater environments, though most inhabit shallow, running water. Representatives of at least eight families are hypogean (live underground) with three families that are also troglobitic (inhabiting caves). One such species is Phreatobius cisternarum, known to live underground in phreatic habitats. Numerous species from the families Ariidae and Plotosidae, and a few species from among the Aspredinidae and Bagridae, are found in salt water.

food safety, fresh seafood, Types of Seafood

The Frozen Seafood Processing Industry in China comprises establishments engaged in the processing of fish, shrimp, shellfish and other seafood by freezing the seafood to preserve the raw material quality. The chilling of the seafood and the processing of frozen seafood for industrial purposes are not included in this industry.

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry key players and their market shares. Read More

food safety, frozen seafood, Seafood Distribution, seafood processsor

by: josephconrad614
Word Count: 596
Date: Sun, Jul 17 2011 Time: 3:56 PM

The most perfect way to defrost frozen foods is by leaving it inside of the fridge. This is measured safe because the cold temperature prevents expansion of unhealthy organisms as the meat thaws. From the freezer, spot the bag of frozen meals into a tray to avoid juices from dripping, and set it inside of the refrigerator that’s set in between 35 to forty??F. On the other hand, other productive tactics are also frequently applied.

Beef and Pork

Thaw frozen beef or pork in the refrigerator. Do not leave them to thaw on the kitchen area counter as defrosting at area temperature can inspire growth of bacteria on the surface of the meat. Move the bag from the freezer, location it in the fridge and permit defrosting gradually and safely. Thawing this way will also end result in the least sum of moisture reduction in comparison to the other techniques.

Approximate Thawing Times in Refrigerator

Little Pot Roast – four to five several hours per pound two-3 hours in

cold h2o

Large Pot Roast – 5 to seven several hours per pound 30 minutes per pound in

cold h2o

Single Chop – 12 to 14 several hours 45 minutes to one hour in

cold drinking water

Complete Pack of Chops/Steaks – twenty to 24 hours 1 ?? to 2 ?? hrs in

cold water

One particular Inch Steak – 8 to twelve hrs two to 3 several hours in

cold drinking water

Thicker than one-inch – sixteen to 24 hours 4 to five hrs in

cold drinking water

16 oz. Ground Beef – 24 hours two to three hrs in

cold drinking water

Thawing frozen beef or pork in cold drinking water is the faster process. Spot the frozen meat in a leak-evidence bag and submerge the bag in a container of cold faucet h2o. Assure that frozen food is sealed tightly so the meat will not be exposed to h2o and lost flavor and color. Modify h2o at minimum every single thirty minutes so it stays cold. The much more water you use, the swifter your frozen meat will thaw.

Although you could defrost frozen meat in a microwave, it is really typically not encouraged. After frozen meat is not evenly defrosted, bacteria may well commence to assemble up in the thawed portions whilst waiting for other areas of the meat to defrost. If you method to use the microwave in defrosting, make sure you lower your meat into small slices ahead of freezing, and remember that frozen meat, specifically ground beef, will need to be cooked promptly right after thawing.

Fish and Shellfish

Generally, frozen seafood is left to defrost in the fridge overnight. To thaw frozen prawns or shrimps, take away the shellfish from their unique packaging and area in a bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the shellfish to defrost in the fridge overnight. To thaw seafood rapid, seal it in a moisture-evidence plastic bag and immerse in tap drinking water, or bring the plastic bag immediately underneath working drinking water until frozen meals is thawed. If you’re cooking the food immediately, microwave it on the “defrost” setting and halt the defrost cycle when the fish is bendable sufficient. Do not thaw seafood at space temperature, except when extensively iced, and make confident to rinse very well as quickly as it is thawed.

About the Author

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