SeaFood Business

JUL 2012

SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.

Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/72022

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 5 of 51

Editor's Note Publisher Mary Larkin / mlarkin@divcom.com Associate Publisher / Editor Fiona Robinson / frobinson@divcom.com Editor, SeafoodSource Steven Hedlund / shedlund@divcom.com Senior Editor, SeaFood Business James Wright / jwright@divcom.com Assistant Editor, SeafoodSource Catfi sh inspection, organic seafood bellwether industry topics T his month we have have updates on two issues that have been heavily debated for many years and that could have a huge impact on the seafood industry here and abroad. First, a preliminary voice vote by the U.S. Senate passed an amendment that would kill a proposal to move catfi sh inspection from the Food and Drug Admin- istration to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (see News Recap page 6). Second, there has been movement on setting standards for organic seafood here in the United States. T e proposed USDA catfi sh inspection program has been a point of contention in the seafood industry since it was introduced as part of the 2008 Farm Bill, but was never implemented. It was proposed by the domestic catfi sh industry, which claims that domestic and imported catfi sh should be inspected by the same program to create a level playing fi eld and increase safety for products destined for American dinner plates. But it was really a protectionist measure to prevent imported catfi sh products, including pangasius from Vietnam, from entering the U.S. market and driving prices down for the entire category. T e U.S. catfi sh industry wagered that if all overseas processing plants had to switch from the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) program to the USDA inspection program that exporters would balk at the expense and send product elsewhere. T ey also backed a smear campaign of misinformation that claimed pangasius is farmed in unsanitary conditions (it's not). T e Farm Bill amendment is being highlighted as an example of pork-barrel spending backed by Southern politicians looking to satisfy their constituents. Why force an industry to change from one inspection program to another, and have the USDA create an offi ce for catfi sh inspection when the current FDA HACCP program has been lauded around the world for setting standardized food-safety measures at the production level? T e catfi sh issue also threatens overall trade relations with Vietnam, which goes far beyond where and how a fi sh is farmed. While the amendment still has to pass a House vote, I'm optimistic this issue will be put to rest once and for all. T e National Organic Standards Board is reviewing a list of substances for use in organic aquaculture (see News page 7). Use of the organic label for seafood could be a real boon for restaurants and retailers alike, as consumers search out the green and white "USDA Organic" label. At stake for farms is a share of the $26.7 billion U.S. market for organic food products — nothing to shake a stick at. However, it remains to be seen how attainable the label will be, as net-pen farms will only able to grow native species that have not been selectively bred to diff er from wild stock. Another contentious issue is the use of fi shmeal, which has to come from a fi shery with sustainability certifi cation. While the label is probably still a few years away for seafood, producers that are planning ahead for all the various requirements will defi nitely have a leg up on the competition. I know I search for the organic label on food. How about you? April Forristall / aforristall@divcom.com Assistant Editor, SeaFood Business Melissa Wood / mwood@divcom.com Contributing Editors Christine Blank, Chris Dove, Lisa Duchene, Anthony Fletcher, Joanne Friedrick, Jason Holland, Nicki Holmyard, Lauren Kramer, Chris Loew Production Director Randy LeShane / rleshane@divcom.com Art Director Laura Lee Dobson / ldobson@divcom.com Production Associate Doug Stewart / dstewart@divcom.com Production Web Designer Katie Emery / kemery@divcom.com Advertising Coordinator Wendy Jalbert / wjalbert@divcom.com ADVERTISING SALES Sue Kogan, Sales Manager (305) 598-0757 / Fax: (305) 598-0758 skogan@divcom.com Marjorie Ferris, Sales Manager (207) 842-5631 / Fax: (207) 842-5611 mferris@divcom.com CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING SALES Wes Doane (207) 842-5496 / Fax: (207) 842-5611 wdoane@divcom.com www.twitter.com@SeaFoodBusiness www.facebook.com/SeaFoodBusinessmagazine @SeaFoodBusiness, @SeafoodSource .com/SeaFoodBusinessmagazine DIVERSIFIED BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438 Portland, ME 04112-7438 (207) 842-5606 Fax: (207) 842-5603 Published by Diversifi ed Business Communications Publisher of National Fisherman and WorkBoat Copyright © 2012 Diversifi ed Business Communications PRINTED IN U.S.A. Producer of The International Boston Seafood Show, Seafood Processing America, New England Food Show, European Seafood Exposition, Seafood Processing Europe, Asian Seafood Expo, Seafood Barcelona and www.seafoodsource.com Editorial Advisory Board DISTRIBUTION Rich Polins, North Coast Seafoods Jim Wallace, C&S; Wholesale Grocers 4 SeaFood Business July 2012 RETAIL Robert Cerullo, Wakefern Food Corp. Jack Gridley, Dorothy Lane Market FOODSERVICE Roger Bing, Darden Restaurants Roger Berkowitz, Richard Vellante, Legal Sea Foods Steve LaHaie, Shaw's Crab House Andrew Wilkinson, Skipjack's Nancy Hasselback President/CEO Mary Larkin VP Seafood Expositions Liz Plizga Show Director, IBSS Hilary Manning Sales Director, Seafood Expositions Karen Butland Sales Manager, IBSS Victoria Hennin VP Strategic Marketing and Business Intelligence (207) 842-5500 / Fax: (207) 842-5505 www.divbusiness.com

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of SeaFood Business - JUL 2012