Ingredient Focus: Seafood

Operations

Sourcing and sustainability

Consumers around the world are increasingly interested in where their food comes from — and the Middle East is no different.

James Gonzalez, president, Pacific Harvest Seafood, tells Caterer Middle East: “People want to know where the fish comes from, especially in higher end establishments and the retail sectors. Sustainable, wild and natural are among the things we see most often. This is the niche that we focuses on; we know where our fish comes from and it’s backed by required sustainability programmes like MSC and RFM.”

Abbas Muntaser, marketing executive, European Seafood, which will be exhibiting at this month’s Seafex in Dubai, concurs and states: “People right now are more driven towards fresh seafood than ever. This is not just because of its many beneficial effects on human health, but also as a source of sustainable food that can last for generations to come and provide for better lifestyles.”

Tommy P. Sawmy, sales manager, Ferme Marine de Mahebourg — which will also be present at the region’s first professional seafood show – agrees, and states: “Internationally, demand is rising for fresh, sustainable; GMO-free and farmed fish products fed without land-based animal fat”

Alexandre Pugnet, who is the managing director of French seafood wholesale business Quintessence, believes that travel and ease of accessing information has made consumers more educated about everything they buy.

“This is increasingly true for the food industry in general and the seafood industry in particular,” he adds. “Most products have their own specific taste, which should be complemented with spices, sauces and concoctions. If your flavour experience comes only from the sauce, then you’re missing the point. Consumers are extremely thirsty to learn more about simple good products, their heritage, how they’re farmed, fished or produced. It’s something we’ve kind of lost, with fast food and microwave offerings the past few decades, as well as respecting nature and its seasons, but the trend has been shifting in opposite directions.

“Consumers, all over the globe, are willing to pay more to eat better, and not necessarily more. Most Michelin star chefs are going back to local producers to source traditional products in order to respect seasonality, products and therefore the consumers,” Pugnet continues.

Anthony Reilly, head chef, Senara, points out that part of ensuring sustainable practices is about educating consumers about the variety of fish on offer. He explains: “People are still very conservative when it comes to seafood. They usually stick to cod/tuna/salmon which, of course, is damaging worldwide stock levels and driving the prices up for the suppliers and consumers.

“Ever so slowly people are starting to realise that many unknown fishes are just as tasty as the mainstream produce and the markets are introducing many species that top chefs are trying to experiment with. I’ve noticed a huge shift towards things like sea urchins and influences from Japanese cuisine.”

Meanwhile, Camil Ishak, managing director, Siblou, which is headquartered in Lebanon, says consumers are not only more socially-conscious, they are increasingly health conscious which is driving demand for seafood.

“Over the past year we have seen that consumers are seeking healthy, clean, and a diversified diet; food with real ingredients. The modern consumers want food that is natural and convenient at the same time. Additionally, they want food that contains a healthy dose of nutritional fat — consumers are now aware that they need to know where their food is coming from, where it is sourced and produced, and the need to trust what they are consuming. All of this is contributing to a massive increase in seafood demand,” Ishak reports.

Consumer-driven demands are shaping the future of the MENA’s seafood market, according to Andrew Pert, show director, exhibitions & events management, DWTC, which is organising and hosting Seafex.

“The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organisation has identified consumer interest in sustainability as an emerging trend within the Middle East. With organised information campaigns such as the WWF’s ‘Choose Wisely’ campaign in the UAE, lessons have been taken up by restaurateurs and retailers,” he comments.

Safe storage

Gonzalez, who founded Pacific Harvest Seafood in 2002, says that vacuum packaging can double the long-term storage of frozen fish.

He also advises: “Fresh seafood should be held in temperatures just above freezing to extend shelf life, whereas frozen fish should be held in the coldest possible temperatures, especially fish with high oil content like salmon and black cod that tend to have oil migration problems in freezers higher than -18°C. Oil migration can develop rancidity in ‘warmer’ freezers and cause freezer burn.”

Pugnet describes the shelf-life of fresh seafood as “a constant reminder” to chefs that they need to cook those products promptly, before they expie.

Pugnet adds:“Storing fresh seafood products in the desert is a very interesting challenge from a logistics perspective. Everything starts with the conditioning in Brittany [in France], to make sure our products handle the shipping, by road first, then by plane in the best conditions.

“The cold chain (0 to +4°C is maintained during every step of the journey to the UAE. And in an ideal world, shellfish and crustaceans are placed in aquariums and pools with seawater from their country of origin before delivery to the clients.”

Asked about the optimal way to store seafood, Reilly, tells Caterer Middle East: “Storage varies depending on the type of seafood; most seafood need temperatures just above freezing to keep the freshness as long as possible.

“Most fish hate being frozen, upon defrosting, most of the water content and flavour is lost resulting in a dry firm texture once cooked.”

Touching on wastage concerns, he continues: “The main concern is keeping the fish fresh, most will only last a matter of days so correct planning and ordering is essential especially with imported seafood. “Shellfish are tricky, most of the weight of lobsters for example is the shell and paying per kilogram results in a lot of money in the garbage.

This is why most shells are used to make sauces and soups to gain some extra revenue with unused parts of the shellfish.”

Price challenges

“Seafood prices are market driven and, depending on the species, can vary substantially,” Gonzalez explains. “For example, Pacific cod and black cod are similar in name, however prices are substantially higher for black cod due to high demand, low production and product forms (headed and gutted versus fillet). Chefs are always price conscious and buy their fish based on the kind of establishment (high-end versus low-end fast food). All fish does not fit all markets.”

Senara’s Reilly confirms this, stating: “Chefs in the region are very price conscious, despite people’s perception of Dubai.

"Customers don’t want to spend too much money on a meal, meaning chefs are faced with the challenge of creating dishes that give both the customer the satisfaction of fresh high grade seafood at a good price, and to meet their budgeted costs. Items like fresh scallops that need to be shipped ASAP cost many times more here than you would pay in a location that they are fished from.”

Pugnet tells Caterer: “The seafood industry, like any other, is subject to a lot of factors to determine prices. As most seafood products available in the UAE are imported, on top of offer and demand, origin, quality, volume, fresh vs. frozen, you need to add cost of shipping to the UAE. Prices can vary a lot for the same type of items. If you look at the lobster category for example, the blue lobster from Brittany is twice as expensive as the Canadian lobster.

"Same with caviar, abalone or the different types of oysters. Chefs in the region are in a tricky position — everyone loves a high quality product but, unfortunately, a lot of them have to work within strict food cost objectives. This means they automatically disregard some products, as they cannot afford them within their current food cost structure.”

He adds: “The Friday brunch tradition is also putting a lot of pressure on chefs and has triggered a lowering price war within the UAE. Instead of offering better quality, the trend has been to reduce the price to attract more footfall, to offer more for less money, therefore drastically reducing the value of the experience to mostly quantity.

“Bigger in most cases doesn’t mean better, especially when you talk about seafood and flavours.”

Great expectations

With GCC demand for fresh fish products expected to grow approximately 8% each year up to 2030, local, regional and global fish suppliers, producers and aquaculture centres have an exciting decade ahead of them, as they step-up to meet consumer demand.

In the UAE alone, fish consumption is predicted to cross the 900,000-tonne barrier by 2030, which is quite a leap, given that the entire GCC fishing industry, as of 2015, produces 392,000 tonnes of fish per year. The fish processing industry is at an interesting stage in its evolution, globally and regionally, with signs pointing towards further growth, higher standards and more pressures in terms of cost, sustainability and quality.