Processing News
American looks to ‘expertise and passion’ of Grimsby for smoking advice
Saucy on show again in the US
Florida based caviar producer and expert flies almost 4,000 miles to learn the art of fish smoking
Great seafood heritage This has been a great “experience and I will highly recommend the course
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MICHAEL Jalileyan, president of Sasanian Caviar in Sunrise, Florida, which produces a wide range of exclusive caviars and fish roes, is now planning a major expansion into the smoked salmon sector. He was in Europe when he heard about a two-day fish smoking course run by the Seafood Skills Training School, based in the Grimsby Seafood Village. The school has two purpose built mini
kilns from Afos in Hull which specialises in smoking equipment. Sasanian Caviar’s product range includes much sought after Kaluga hybrid caviar, which it calls River Beluga. It also markets several other types of caviar. Jalileyan said: ‘We already have a smoker supplied by Afos and we will be branching out into salmon and perhaps some whitefish.’ He said he came
to Grimsby because the port had a great fishing and seafood heritage. ‘It was also recommended to me by Afos which has an international reputation. I was planning a trip to Europe so it was the right thing for me to do. ‘This has been a great experience and I will highly recommend the course – the obvious expertise and passion that goes into the course is fantastic and
the opportunity to have hands on experience in an operational environment is highly beneficial – especially when the finished products can be tasted.’ Talking about his company’s plans he said smoked salmon will be the main product, but he was also looking at hot smoked mackerel and smoked haddock. ‘We sampled the products. The taste is great and I know we
can sell products of that quality. So who knows? The equipment is very versatile and possibilities are there.’ The course was delivered by Ivan JainesWhite, director of the Seafood Skills Training School, together with Lee Cooper, head of Onshore Training at Seafish. Cooper revealed that there were plans for further courses, in south-east England and in Grimsby.
Sainsbury’s contract ‘costly move’ says MH WINNING over the Sainsbury’s salmon contract from Young’s Seafood proved to be a challenge ‘a little beyond our capability’, Marine Harvest CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog said last month. Presenting the company’s fourth quarter results, he said the £100 million deal was costly, but the company managed to deliver to the retailer’s expectations. Marine Harvest expanded production facilities at its plant in Rosyth, Fife, to accommodate the contract, increasing the number of employees from 90 to 350. Deliveries to Sainsbury’s began before Christmas.
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‘We took on a challenge that was a little beyond our capability, and failed in many areas, particularly costs,’ said Aarskog. ‘However, we succeeded in delivering as we were supposed to, and the customer is very pleased.’
In the fourth quarter, Rosyth made losses of NOK 95 million (£7.7 million) due to start-up costs. ‘We underestimated perhaps that we took on such a huge challenge with a new customer,’ he said. The company faced a poor yield, as well as recruitment problems. The Rosyth factory was included in Marine Harvest’s earlier acquisition of Morpol. Aarskog said: ‘There are still tasks to tackle with the operation, and we anticipate a loss of around NOK 50 million (£4 million) for the first quarter. We’re expecting a zero result toward the end of the second quarter.’
SAUCY Fish, which now claims to be the UK’s leading chilled seafood brand, was at the Boston Seafood Show. Over the past year the firm has moved into Europe, the US and Dubai, partly due to listings with Wholefoods Market stores, which sell its Ready to Eat range. The Grimsby based brand has retained its CoolBrand Award for the third year.
Young’s wins design award YOUNG’S Seafood has been recognised at the Design Business Association’s (DBA) annual Design Effectiveness Awards for its new packaging. The brand won a bronze in the Food Producers section of the awards, which were held in London last month. Springetts Brand Design consultants created Young’s Seafood’s new packaging, which features an iconic landscape of Grimsby, the brand’s home town, with a design budget of £250,000. The awards celebrate the power of design to drive business success.
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
04/03/2016 16:47:57