Intelligence

Our new interview series with foodservice professionals begins with Bruce Mattel, senior associate dean of culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). We’ll pry open the minds of some notable chefs who know seafood and are making statements about sustainability in their restaurants and beyond. 

Fluid Farms, an aquaponics produce grower in Maine, leans on multi-trophic aquaculture to provide nutrients for its plants. The company is now selling its hybrid striped bass to the local market and, armed with a $50,000 innovation prize that will fund a new heating system, is expanding its horizons. 

Two U.S. universities are teaming up to study the application of a novel antibody to tilapia to reduce the aquaculture industry’s use of antibiotics. The chairman of the Seafood Industry Research Fund says there could be a disruptive financial impact on seafood if it can’t compete in the “antibiotic-free” space. 

The U.S. foodservice community at large believes that aquaculture should be judged by its potential to feed the world in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and not by the misgivings that dogged the industry in its infancy. 

Ongoing research on foodservice professionals reveals ever-growing pressure on seafood suppliers to procure safe, sustainable and high-quality seafood and provide them with all the intricate information they may require. Chefs are pressed for resources and many lack the time to grasp this complex issue. 

In his latest piece for the Advocate, industry veteran Phil Walsh, VP of Growth for Alfa Gamma Seafood Group in Miami, says aquaculture stakeholders should seize every opportunity to promote their products’ positive attributes in the face of stiff opposition. 

Could the labyrinthine U.S. government approval process be nearing an end? Or could organic seafood encounter more delays? Both scenarios seem possible, considering the political opposition and the slight bending of organic principles that would be necessary.  

Many people, including health-conscious consumers, are concerned about the cholesterol content of foods such as meat, eggs and dairy products. In the case of shrimp, the cholesterol story is different because a number of research studies have demonstrated that the high percentage of “good fats” in shrimp reduce the impact of cholesterol, and that a majority of people can eat shrimp as part of a balanced diet. 

Michael Rubino and Gunnar Knapp list key reasons why U.S. marine aquaculture has been limited to a scale far below its vast potential. 

Many current eating habits have negative results for our health, lending credence to “you are what you eat.” Eating habits can be changed, and increasing seafood consumption can provide numerous health benefits, including as a significant source of critical micro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Seafood should have its own spot in our dietary food pyramid. 

An article by FactCheck.org concluded that fears regarding risk to human and environmental health posed by GM salmon are unfounded. Meanwhile, a group of environmental NGOs has sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the fish last year. 

Aquaculture and fisheries – although significantly different as one is farming and the other one is hunting – are very closely related activities that share many components of their value chains, including their markets and customers. 

Past and ongoing studies at the UWSP Northern Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (UWSP-NADF) have shown that walleye and hybrid walleye can be successfully raised indoors using early advanced spawning, incubation and rearing techniques. Marketing studies indicate good aquaculture potential and high demand. 

Drug-related import refusals at U.S. ports were up in 2015 for the third straight year. Representatives from the National Fisheries Institute and the Food and Drug Administration discussed U.S. aquaculture drug policy at Seafood Expo North America and how the supply chain can avoid problems. 

In a discussion format somewhat unique to the bustling halls of Seafood Expo North America, aquaculture backers lamented the lackluster U.S. consumer acceptance for farmed fish.