Nutrition

June 10, 2014 — Whenever the federal government issues new advice on how we should eat, there’s never a shortage of criticism, and new advice counseling pregnant women and children to eat more fish is no exception. The US Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new dietary recommendation on Tuesday that tweaks — ever so slightly — their old advice on fish consumption.

Instead of telling women and young children to “eat up to 12 ounces a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury,” the government would now like them to “eat 8 to 12 ounces of a variety of fish each week from choices that are lower in mercury.”

See the subtle difference? Government officials say they needed to set a minimum recommended amount, rather than just a maximum, because research suggests that the tide has turned too far against eating fish during pregnancy; most women restrict their intake or avoid it altogether because of concerns about the pollutant mercury — found in varying amounts in all fish — which can interfere with a baby’s brain development.

But the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit environmental activist group based in Washington, D.C., criticized the new advice for not being specific enough in identifying fish with rich amounts of brain-boosting omega-3 fats and minimal amounts of mercury.

“Consumers need precise, detailed information about foods that provide sufficient omega-3 fatty acids with minimal mercury contamination,” said the group’s senior analyst Sonya Lunder. “The FDA’s new guidelines fall far short of advice that would actually protect these vulnerable populations.”

An Environmental Working Group analysis released in January found that only salmon and canned albacore tuna contained enough omega-3 fats in a weekly 8-ounce serving to provide optimal health benefits during pregnancy. (But the analysis also found that albacore tuna had too much mercury in that amount for pregnant women to safely consume.)

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

June 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) — Pregnant or breast-feeding women should increase their weekly consumption of fish, as long as it's lower in mercury, according to new advice issued Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The two agencies now recommend that women eat at least 8 ounces and up to 12 ounces per week of low-mercury fish, to support fetal growth and development. That equates to two or three servings.

Young children and women who might become pregnant should also try to eat a similar amount of fish every week, the agencies said in a newly released draft of updated nutritional advice.

The nutritional benefits of fish outweigh concerns about mercury, the agencies have concluded.

"For years many women have limited or avoided eating fish during pregnancy or feeding fish to their young children," said Dr. Stephen Ostroff, the FDA's acting chief scientist. "But emerging science now tells us that limiting or avoiding fish during pregnancy and early childhood can mean missing out on important nutrients that can have a positive impact on growth and development as well as on general health."

Added Elizabeth Southerland, director of the EPA's Office of Water: "There is now substantial evidence that fish consumption can benefit growth and development in the fetus and young children even though fish contain methyl mercury, and that this beneficial effect is much more likely to occur than harm from methyl mercury."

Previously, the FDA and the EPA recommended maximum amounts of fish that these groups of people should consume, but did not promote a minimum amount. Over the past decade, however, emerging science has underscored the importance of appropriate amounts of fish in the diets of pregnant and breast-feeding women and young children, the agencies said.

Read the full story from U.S. News & World Report

SEATTLE, Wa. (PRWEB) — June 06, 2014 — The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) is pleased to announce its “Savor Bristol Bay” salmon dinner series, which will travel around the country this summer as author Paul Greenberg launches his newest book, “American Catch: The Fight for Our Local Seafood.”

The dinner series, hosted in partnership with Chefs Collaborative, will feature fresh sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska, home of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. Participating chefs in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago will prepare multiple courses spotlighting Bristol Bay sockeye while guests mingle with award-winning, NYT bestselling author Paul Greenberg (Four Fish). During the dinners, Greenberg will talk about his newest book, American Catch, which highlights Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery as one of its central storylines and investigates the proposed Pebble Mine project.

Ticket information for “Savor Bristol Bay” dinners will be announced in coming weeks, and available for purchase at venues in host cities, which include:

New York City
Monday, June 30
Grand Banks
F/V Sherman Zwicker, Pier 25, New York
(212) 960-3390

San Francisco
Monday, July 7
Chez Panisse, 1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley
(510) 548-5525

Seattle
Thursday, July 10
Town Hall, 1119 8th Avenue, Seattle
(206) 652-4255

Read the full story from The San Francisco Gate

June 6, 2014 — A sharp dietary warning emerged from the Sharks International Conference taking place in Durban, South Africa this week, iol Scitech reported. According to a presenter at the gathering, eating shark meat could kill you.

Southern Cross University researcher Jann Gilbert said that in three species of shark mercury and arsenic levels were found to be well above those considered safe by Australia and New Zealand's Food Standards Authority.

VIDEO: 3 Shark Myths Debunked

Gilbert examined shark meat samples from great white, sandbar and dusky species and found toxic metals in all three. Mercury levels alone were 10 times above safe levels in two of the species, she reported.

Read the full story and watch the video from Discovery News

WASHINGTON (AP) — May 30, 2014 — The Food and Drug Administration is updating its advice for pregnant women on the appropriate levels of mercury in seafood but Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said Friday that it won’t require mercury labels on seafood packages.

In a wide-ranging interview Friday with The Associated Press, Hamburg said the agency will update guidance on mercury in different varieties of seafood and what that means, a long-awaited move aimed at helping women better understand what to eat when they’re pregnant.

‘‘It’s an advisory, not an effort to mandate labeling,’’ Hamburg said. ‘‘Different seafood products do contain different levels of mercury, and so different seafood products can be rated in terms of levels of mercury.’’

Eating fish is part of a heart-healthy diet, and many types are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids that are important for brain development.

But fish also can absorb small amounts of mercury, a neurotoxin, from streams and oceans — and a small number of varieties harbor higher levels.

For most people, accumulating mercury from eating seafood isn’t a health risk. But for a decade, the FDA has warned that pregnant women, those who may become pregnant, and young children avoid certain types of high-mercury fish because of concern that too much could harm a developing brain.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

May 29, 2014 — If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) rules that genetically engineered fish are safe to eat, the majority of U.S. consumers would buy it, according to a new survey.

Fifty-nine percent of consumers are “somewhat” or “very” likely to buy genetically engineered seafood if the FDA deems it safe, according to the International Food Information Council’s (IFIC) annual “Consumer Perceptions of Food Technology” report, released on 28 May. At the same time, 26 percent said it is “not too likely” that they would buy GE seafood if it is approved and 15 percent said it is “not at all likely.”

In addition, consumers are confused about genetically modified seafood. When asked whether they believe GMO fish is currently being sold in supermarkets, 12.5 percent of those surveyed said that it is. In reality, AquaBounty’s genetically engineered salmon is not being sold in the U.S., because it is pending approval by the FDA.

“I would expect that some of the news coverage of genetically engineered salmon and the discussions of whether GE fish should be labeled or approved may have something to do with that,” Lindsey Loving, senior director of food ingredient and technology communications for IFIC, told SeafoodSource.

Americans are also unsure whether to support animal (including fish) biotechnology in general. Thirty-one percent said their overall impression of animal biotechnology is favorable, while 31 percent said it is not favorable and 25 percent were neutral.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

May 23, 2014 — In a recent poll carried out in the U.K., half of the people questioned said they were not buying fish or seafood because it was too expensive. Meanwhile Public Health England has reported that children in the U.K. are eating a mere 11 grams of oily fish each per week. This means they could be at serious risk of contracting rickets because of Vitamin D deficiency.

It was thought that rickets, which causes a softening of developing bones leading to serious deformities, had been eradicated in the U.K., but it is now making a comeback. A recent report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said there are a growing number of cases of rickets in children and babies that can be directly linked to the lack of Vitamin D in their diets.

It’s not just children who are failing to eat enough oily fish in the U.K. According to Public Health England, no one age group in the country meets the government’s recommended weekly intake of 140 grams.

Not surprisingly, although this is a danger sign for the future of the seafood industry, it is people above the age of 65 years who are eating the most oily fish at 103 grams for men and 81 grams for women. In the next age group down, 19-64 years, men are consuming 52 grams of oily fish per week and women are eating 54 grams.

It is disappointing that more is not being done to encourage people, particularly the younger generation, to eat seafood. It’s not just rickets in children that can be caused by not eating sufficient oily fish. Species such as salmon, tuna and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fatty acids which have been proven to help prevent the onset of coronary heart disease which kills one in three adults in the U.K.

Individual seafood processors such as Young’s Seafood promote their own products, particularly when they launch new lines. Pete Ward, Young’s deputy chief executive, has said he hoped Young’s Funky Fish Kitchen line of prepared retail fish products “can inspire people to change their eating habits, and improve the numbers.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

May 26, 2014 — Raw fish is sizzling hot right now.

Los Angeles has brand new bars devoted to an Italian style of raw fish, called crudo. President Obama kicked off his visit to Asia last month noshing nigiri at Jiro's famous sushi bar. And back in December, The New York Times named Sushi Nakawaza as its top restaurant of the year.

But why do so many of us find utter bliss in eating raw sea creatures but aren't so inclined to chow down on uncooked birds, cows or pigs?

A big part of it is gravity — or the effective lack of it in the ocean, says biophysicist Ole Mouritsen, author of Sushi: Food for the Eye, the Body and the Soul.

"Fish are so soft. You can stick your finger through their muscles," he says. "Try doing that with a chicken or cow. Fish muscle is very different than that in land animals."

Why? Because fish can afford to be lazier than terrestrial animals. Fish essentially float all the time. So their muscles don't work constantly to fight gravity. (The buoyancy force in water counteracts the gravitational force, which makes fish virtually weightless.)

"Fish don't have to support their body weight," Mouritsen says, "so their muscle fibers are shorter and less tough than those in land animals." The same goes for the connective tissue holding the muscle fibers together: It's delicate and weak.

The result? Fish has a silky, smooth texture when it's raw, and a flaky, light texture when it's cooked.

By contrast, "Land animals — like ourselves — are always working to keep themselves upright and keep their shape," Mouritsen says, so our muscle fibers are thicker, tougher and firmer.

Read the full story at WMHT

May 23, 2014 — Harvest for Healthy Kids began as a partnership led by Izumi between PSU and Mt. Hood Community College’s Head Start program to expose young children to healthy foods. The Helen Gordon Child Development Center provided a handy place to test the new curriculum and fit in with the center’s focus on healthy foods.

"The HGCDC nutrition program strives to cultivate an appreciation for food and where it comes from while providing opportunities for children to become engaged with cooking and food,” said Ellie Justice HGCDC’s Director. “We are delighted to begin a new partnership that aligns so well with these goals."

The salmon unit tested at Helen Gordon Center culminated with a sockeye salmon lunch prepared by the school’s cook Deb Sesnsenbach who brought the salmon from the fridge to show the students in the classroom.

The salmon, in addition to some of the educational props, came from Iliamna Fish Company, a Portland-based community-supported fishery that fishes for salmon in Alaska’s Bristol Bay every summer.

Iliamna isn’t the only Alaska connection. Izumi, who’s done research in the 49th state, developed the salmon unit in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Center for Alaska Native Health Research as part of a program called Fish to Schools. 

Read the full story from Portland State University

May 6, 2014 — A growing number of Mainers are taking the state’s native cuisine to other regions of the U.S. by starting food truck businesses that serve Maine lobster rolls, fried clams, haddock sandwiches, bisques, chowders and even whoopee pies.

The proliferation of Maine lobster food trucks in places such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Phoenix and Atlanta is part of a trend of chefs opening gourmet food truck businesses catering to a wide variety of tastes, said a restaurant industry analyst.

The National Restaurant Association recently named food trucks one of the fastest-growing segments of the food service industry, said Aaron Allen, founder and CEO of Aaron Allen & Associates, an Orlando-based restaurant consulting firm.

That trend has been driven largely by “frustrated, underfunded chefs” who are looking for a less expensive way to serve their food to customers, he said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald