From Bambino’s Baby Food Hali Halibut frozen prepared meals to adult-oriented – but certainly not “adults only” – Gluten Free Beer Battered Cod, there will be no shortage of innovative frozen fish dishes to see and sample March 6-8 at Seafood Expo/Seafood Processing North America. The annual event, now in its 36th year, is co-located with the New England Food Show at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in Massachusetts. The 2016 running is expected to attract more than 20,000 visitors.
By now the invitations to check out exhibitors’ stands, drop by hotel suites and attend evening receptions and dinners and are in the hands of key buyers. As always, purchasing personnel from restaurants, supermarkets, catering firms, seafood markets, hotels, airlines and cruise lines, as well as importers, wholesalers and distributors, will attend the trade fair to seek and find new products. Sellers from around the world will be only too happy to wheel and deal with those on the scene who are serious about doing business.
As the clock ticks down leading to Sunday morning, when doors open at 10 AM for three days of ongoing buying and selling, here’s a short list of some of the more interesting frozen fish and seafood products that will be on display among 1,240 stands staffed by representatives of companies from over 50 countries.
Hey, Baby!
Flying in from Anchorage, on the wings of victory after being awarded the Alaska Symphony of Seafood Grand Prize, Zoi Maroudas and her Bambino’s Baby Food team are ready for action in Boston. Their recently launched Baby Food Hali Halibut offering, distributed in 569-gram bags containing kosher and organic cube portions, not only received top honors in the hotly-contested Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation competition, but also took first place in the Retail and People’s Choice categories, as well as in the Juneau Gala contest.
Maroudas opted to freeze the product rather than offer it in shelf-stable form, which would require reheating at home at very high boiling points, thus unnecessarily depleting nutrients.
“We are able to control the boiling point during production and assure that the natural ingredients are as nutritious and healthy as possible when consumed,” she said. “Parents take the pouch from the freezer, remove the desired amount of cubes from inside and then place them in microwaveable bowls. Next they are covered with Saran wrap and heated for 30-second increments. Or, for those who don’t like to microwave, they can be placed in a refrigerator over night (to thaw) and prepared in a double boiler the next day.”
Holding forth at Booth 2811 during the Boston Show, Maroudas will also be promoting Bambino’s Sockeye Salmon for babies and toddlers. As is the case with the Hali Halibut hit, the gluten-free salmon meal comes with organic vegetables and grains, is free of additives, preservatives and GMOs, and is approved by allergists and pediatricians.
Beer Here!
Catering to adult palates, Clackamas, Oregon-based Pacific Seafood Group aims to tap into an appetite it hopes consumers acquire for Classic and Gluten Free Beer Battered Cod distributed in 284-gram boxes under its Pacific Sustainable Seafood brand. The batter is made exclusively with Portland-brewed Groundbreaker™ beer, which is 100% gluten-free and produced exclusively with locally grown ingredients. Check it out at Booth 1523.
Shout for Stout
Meanwhile, over at Booth 2959, Bantry Bay America will be serving up Mussels in Creamy Stout Sauce. Distributed by Mascato SA in 454-gram packs that are ready to plate after just six minutes of microwave oven preparation, the product’s smooth, dark-brewed stout accents a flavorful blend of garlic, cream and butter that adds flavor to the dish be savored.
Mussel Meats in Thai Curry Sauce under the Bantry Bay Premium Seafoods banner will also be available to try at the stand. The 225-gram pack features traditional Thai spices in coconut milk and white wine, along with a jolt of what the producer describes as “just the right hint of heat.”
Kung Pao and More to Wow
At Booth 2005 Aqua Star will be showcasing a number of new Smart Seafood Sauté products, of which Kung Pao Shrimp will be front and center. The offering features the prized shellfish with a mix of crisp vegetables in a spicy kung pao sauce. Gluten-free and low in fat, the nutritious entree is ready to serve after nine minutes of preparation time.
Other items in Aqua Star’s Smart Seafood line include Caribbean-style Shrimp Smart Seafood Sauté (shrimp with corn, black beans and peppers in a coconut mango sauce with a hint of lime) and Shrimp Primavera (shrimp accompanied with crisp spring vegetables in a Parmesan cheese sauce).
Last, but not least, the Seattle, Washington-based company will shine the spotlight on its 2.2-pound Crab & Shrimp Seafood Feast featuring a medley of mussels, sausage, vegetables, crab and shrimp a classic beer broth.
Now, that’s Handy!
Salisbury, Maryland-based Handy International will be on the scene at Booth 823 with Agedama-Style Crispy Tempura Shrimp coated with bits of fried Agedama batter that add crunch to every bite of the culinary delight. Presented on a platter or a sharing plate, Handy suggests serving the product either on its own or paired with a sweet chili sauce that it is all to eager to supply. The company also offers an Arrabbiata sauce that goes well with pasta.
Pre-Fried Oysters
Bonamar Corporation will be promoting its recently debuted 340-gram offering of lightly dusted, par-fried oysters sold under the Sebastian brand. The cultured oysters are string-farmed above the water’s bed, a technique that produces clean-tasting shellfish that’s ideal for breading. At least 26 oysters, each coated in light Chesapeake-style seasoned flour, come per box.
Headquartered in Doral, Florida, Bonamar is a major importer, exporter and distributor of premium crab meat as well as breaded oysters, warm water lobster tails, conch, whole cleaned crabs and soft shell crabs. Operating blue crab processing plants in the Lake Maracaibo region of Venezuela, the family-owned company was founded by Argenis Contreras in 1994.
Good Eating from Cheat!ng
Lump Crabmeat with Premium Stuffing in White Button Mushroom Caps are made for sumptuous eating by Cheat!ng Gourmet of Auburn, Maine. The new product, which can be sampled at Booth 348, joins Blue Crab Stuffed Mushrooms, Lobster Crostinis and a raft of other seafood-based appetizers produced from family recipes by Scott and Jon Demers.
Phillips Proposes a ‘Toast’
Baltimore, Maryland-headquartered Phillips Foods will be the “Toast of Booth 959” during the Boston show with its new Shrimp Toast. The product features tender bread triangles layered with a mixture of finely chopped shrimp, diced water chestnuts, mushrooms, spring onions and breadcrumbs, flavored with garlic, ginger, shallot and sesame oil.
Founded in 1914 and regarded as the leading importer and distributor of crabmeat in the United States, Phillips Foods specializes in a wide assortment of crab and ready-to-cook crab cakes as well as other kinds of seafood cakes, soups, appetizers and dips. Best known for its premium-quality blue swimming crabmeat and Maryland-style crab cakes, the company operates restaurants in addition to packing a full line of seafood products for foodservice and retail customers.
Seamazz Makes Splash
Visitors to Mazzetta Company Booths 533 and 644 will be able to taste the Highland Park, Illinois-based company’s new retail range of Seamazz brand Chilean Sea Bass, Atlantic Cod and Wild-caught Haddock.
The 340-gram Chilean Sea Bass offering flakes easily, and the whitefish can be broiled, grilled, poached, sautéed, seared or smoked without fear of overcooking. Each portion is individually vacuum-packed for convenience.
The 454-gram Seamazz Atlantic Cod is a natural, MSC-certified product sourced from Norway and packed in Mazzetta’s Gloucester Seafood Processing (GSP) plant at America’s oldest commercial seaport in Massachusetts. Seamazz Haddock, harvested off Georges Bank on the northeast coast of the United States, is also processed at the state-of-the-art GSP facility.
SeaFusions Cod Bites
Seattle, Washington-headquartered Trident Seafoods has packed heat into one of its SeaFusions Cod Bites, which can be sampled at Booth 805, where savory and spicy options will be available: Crunchy Potato and Spicy Sriracha. The Cod Bites feature a fresh prep, natural hand-cut appearance that are made to address the snacking and small plate trends that are popular today.
Swai and Barramundi Dishes
Vinh Hoan Corporation of Cao Lahn City, Dong Thap Province, Vietnam, will serve up a daily-double lunch menu featuring new recipes at Booth 2247.
The first, Sesame Salmon Swai Roulade, is a fusion of Norwegian salmon and Vietnamese pangasius fillets, moistened with whipped lime and chili butter, encrusted with toasted black and white sesame seeds and then char-seared to provide a light hint of smoke to its light, delicate flavor.
The second dish, Char Marked Barramundi, features a dual-purpose fish portion. The flesh side presents a char-grilled appearance with a trace of smoke, while the skin-on side is pre-scored, making the value-added barramundi ideal for both restaurant and banqueting purposes.
From Britain, with Sauce
The United Kingdom’s leading chilled seafood brand, packed by The Saucy Fishy Co. in Grimsby, will again have a high profile at the Boston show, returning to Booth 2554.
Four products in particular, all of which have been listed at Whole Foods Market stores in the US Mid-Atlantic region, will be spotlighted in the Expo’s New Products Showcase. The ready-to-eat range includes Sicilian Lemon & Dill Mayo with Roasted Lemon and Herb Salmon, Lime & Cilantro Sauce with Steamed Salmon Fillets, Roasted Sweet Chili Salmon with Tomato and Chili Chutney, and Sticky Maple Sauce with Smoked & Roasted Salmon.
“The increasing need for convenience products in US supermarkets makes the expansion of our fish and sauce combinations more essential than ever before to provide high quality, tasty and easy to use meals. We’re confident that our rollout in Whole Foods Market is a great way to meet these demands and give shoppers exactly what they’re looking for,” said Paul Macis, international and business development manager for the Icelandic Seachill-owned company. – Reported by John Saulnier
