Nutrition

August 6, 2013 — Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., says after nine years it's time for the Food and Drug Administration to update recommendations on how much seafood pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children should consume.

She organized a letter, signed by 19 Senate colleagues, including David Vitter, R-La., asking President Barack Obama to move forward updated draft FDA recommendations "stuck in intra-agency review" for months.

The letter, dated Tuesday, said:

"According to the latest scientific studies, seafood rich in Omega-3s and essential nutrients improves cognitive and visual developments in unborn children and infants. Seafood is also high in protein and low in fact and supports the healthy lifestyle promoted by the First Lady's 'Let's Move!' initiative."

Read the full story from the New Orleans Times-Picayune

Read a PDF of the letter

The signatories of the letter are reproduced below:

Mary Landrieu (D, LA)
Mark Begich (D, AK)
Richard Blumenthal (D, CT)
Maria Cantwell (D, WA)
Robert Casey (D, PA)
Chris Coons (D, DE)
Dick Durbin (D, IL)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D, NY)
Barbara Mikulski (D, MD)
Jeanne Shaheen (D, NH)
Sheldon Whitehouse (D, RI)
Elizabeth Warren (D, MA)
Saxby Chambliss (R, GA)
Jeffrey Chisea (R, NJ)
Tom Coburn (R, OK)
Susan Collins (R, ME)
Johnny Isakson (R, GA)
Mark Kirk (R, IL)
Lisa Murkowski (R, AK)
Marco Rubio (R, FL)
David Vitter (R, LA)

 

 

August 6, 2013 — In Paris last month, I was delighted, as one might expect, by extraordinary croissants, crêpes, paté foie gras, escargots, frogs legs, grand vins, Camembert, crème brulée and mousse-au-chocolat. What I didn’t expect there was a sublimely delicious seafood imported from New England — monkfish liver.

Before George Peterson became a state representative, he fished commercially and, with his beautiful wife Diana, owned and operated Peterson’s Fish Market in Grafton center. They introduced me to monkfish, sometimes called goosefish, when few people knew it even existed. I’ve favored it ever since. In Europe, it’s a very expensive delicacy.

Monkfish are a big, ugly species of anglerfish, often growing to 3 feet or more, with record fish weighing more than 200 pounds. They’re all head and tail. Projecting out of their head are three long, soft, worm-like filaments. They’re separated modifications of the front dorsal spines that seductively lure baitfish close to their wide, heavily toothed mouths, which suck in prey like a powerful vacuum cleaner.

For good reason, monkfish is commonly referred to as poor man’s lobster. It has a consistency similar to lobster tail and is frequently sautéed medium rare and covered with melted butter. Today, many gourmets rave about it, but few on our side of the Atlantic have tried the liver.

All my fish liver-eating experiences, beginning in my youth, were forced upon me by my health-conscious mother, who knew about the benefits of fish oil long before omega-3 fatty acids were being popularized. Growing up on a daily spoonful of unctuous cod liver oil left me unreceptive, though, to any future fish liver offerings. But monkfish liver proved wonderfully different. It’s a shame that it took a French restaurant to introduce me to an American delicacy.

Read the full story at the Worcester Telegram

 

August 5, 2013 — I tried to eat a shark last week and couldn’t find one. Recent estimates suggest that as many as 100 million sharks are killed by man each year whereas fewer than 20 people are killed by sharks. That means that I had about a 5,000,000:1 chance of being the eater, not the eaten, but I still struck out.

My plan was to kick off Shark Week by feasting on Squalus acanthias, aka Spiny Dogfish, and reporting my impressions. A local chef achieved minor celebrity status last year by feeding one of the omnivorous TV cooking show hosts the “best dogfish” he’d ever eaten. While this particular diner’s habits must be approached with caution– he pretends to like beetles and calf brains, for example–I thought this would be a fish I could try in good conscience.

Spiny dogfish are one of the few fish populations in good biological condition that New England fishermen can still catch, having recovered from a crash back in the early 1990’s. Once a fish despised because of the havoc it caused with fishing gear and its voracious predation on more valuable commercial fish, many fishermen who can no longer find cod or other prime species are turning to dogfish out of financial desperation. Eating shark for one meal seemed the least I could do to stimulate market demand.

Spiny dogfish has cycled through fish markets several times in the past. Stuck with a name that reminds many consumers uncomfortably of their cherished canine at home, dogfish mechandisers have resorted to various aliases over time, from “rock salmon” to “mud shark” to “Japanese halibut” (seriously!). The most recent New England marketing label is “Cape shark,” a reference to the swarming abundance of these sharks off Cape Cod.

While most sharks are decidedly more valuable left in the oceans, I was willing to make an exception for dogfish, at least in the short run. They, together with their cousins, the skates, have moved into the vacuum created by overfishing of cod and a number of types of flounder. More than “moved in” to that niche, they seem to have almost overrun it. Without some focused removals of dogfish and skates, some scientists think it might be difficult, if not impossible, for a number of groundfish species to recover.

Read the full story at Talking Fish

August 6, 2013 —  It’s time to tell people to stop being afraid of methylmercury.

This may sound like a radical statement, considering over the past decade many consumers have been leery of eating too much seafood out of fear of methylmercury poisoning, especially in children and pregnant women.

The majority of seafood buyers and sellers worldwide are aware on some level of the health messages that children and pregnant or nursing mothers should limit their consumption of fish known to have high levels of methylmercury.

What most consumers don’t understand, however, is why most ocean fish is really OK to eat — whether you’re pregnant or not — and why it really is safe to feed that tuna fish sandwich to our children.

The key word here is “selenium.” Most of us, including yours truly, are not chemists, so I’ll leave out the technical details, but the thing to remember is selenium is something our body needs, and mercury keeps us from getting it.

New research conducted by the University of North Dakota proves that most ocean fish we eat, while containing mercury, also contain a lot of selenium. Thus, when we eat the fish, we take in mercury, but we take in extra selenium too that offsets the harmful effects of methylmercury. That means the mercury will never be able to do the damage we’re afraid it will do, according to the research.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

July 30, 2013 — Here's yet another fishy health story: "Scientific research" from the US appears to show that fish oil significantly increases men’s risk of prostate cancer.

In some cases, it increases the risk of high-grade prostate cancer — the form most likely to metastasise (spread) and kill — by a whopping 70% or more.

Men have only to eat the oily fish, such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, a few times a week, rather than pop pills containing the oils, to run the risk.

Those are frightening claims, especially when they emanate from a source as usually respectable and reliable as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, and are published in the prestigious, peer-reviewed Journal of the National Cancer Institute in July.

The researchers say the risk is highest with mega doses of the oils in the body, that cause high levels of long chain omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA and DHA, to build up.

Dr Alan Kristal, associate head of the Cancer Prevention Programme at Fred Hutchinson, who participated in the research is quoted as saying: "We’ve shown once again that use of nutritional supplements may be harmful."

In a Forbes magazine report he says it would take just three to four servings of fish a week to "get into the highest exposure category in our study, or a standard omega-3 supplement (probably every other or even every third day would be enough)".

Read the full story from BDlive

July 29, 2013 — Salmon are one of nature’s miracles, a resource of protein and nitrogen that feeds entire ecosystems, both marine and terrestrial. Far inland, within river basins of the Pacific Northwest, their biomass nourishes the soil, while at sea, nearly every level of predator–from rockfish to halibut to seal to orca–relies at least partially on this abundant source of food. Salmon are also one of the most revered guests in any kitchen. Their bright red meat is so distinct and so delicious that it hardly qualifies merely as seafood but, rather, occupies a princely culinary category of its own. But within the Pacific salmon genus, Oncorhynchus, there are five main species–and they are all very different. Some restaurant menus will specify the species–especially if the fish is Chinook, also called king. Other times, salmon is sold anonymously or under false marketing names–like “silverbrite” for the ill-named chum salmon. Some is, of course, farmed–almost always the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar–but such cage-raised fish are not a part of this discussion. Here, we catch, taste and discuss the wild Pacific salmon–from the reddest to the biggest to the best.

Pink Salmon

What this little fish lacks in size it makes up for in sheer abundance. The pink, or humpie, salmon averages just several pounds in weight–like a large trout–but teems in ocean waters from Oregon to Alaska in the tens of millions. They surge upstream to spawn in astonishing numbers, actually clogging streams at times and making easy pickings for bears, birds, wolves and humans. In places along the Pacific Northwest coast, residents may notice a putrid scent emanating from the woods in mid-summer–literally the smell of a good pink year. Pinks caught in the ocean are the best, as with all salmon. But pinks are not known for their excellence as a table fish. Their meat at its prime–before it begins to deteriorate as the fish swim upstream to spawn and die–is grayish-pink. Indeed, many fishermen believe the pink is good for nothing but canning or halibut bait. Others–like this writer–have found sea-bright pinks to be excellent when wrapped in foil, seasoned and grilled.

Chinook Salmon

Few, if any, fish are more prized by fishermen, whether commercial or recreational, than this giant of the salmon family. The Chinook can grow to the size of a human–more than 100 pounds–and also bears the highest fat content of all the five Pacific salmon species. It is generally considered the most delicious, and its secondary name–the king salmon–is absolutely appropriate in more ways than one. Chinook salmon grow largest in Alaskan waters but also spawn in rivers as far south as the Sacramento and the San Joaquin of California, where they are the only commercially caught salmon. A barbecued steak of king, lightly salted, peppered and drizzled with lemon juice, takes seafood lovers into epicurean heaven. Such a cut provides a cross section of the entire creature–from its crispy-when-grilled skin, to the firm back muscle, to the velvety soft and succulent belly meat–often named as the very best part. Can you believe that some fishermen intentionally cut away the belly flesh to use as crab bait? Chinook salmon have declined in numbers in the southern extent of their range, due mostly to destruction of river habitat, while a poorly managed sport fishing industry for the giants of Alaska’s Kenai River has caused a recent population crash–and an emergency closure on the season.

Chum Salmon

This large and powerful fish is the least known of the Pacific salmon and usually receives the least love–if only because we rarely have a chance to give it any. After they enter freshwater to embark upon their terminal spawning migrations, chums transform dramatically into the ugliest beasts in the Oncorhynchus genus. Their mouths curl into wicked, toothy snarls–especially on males–and their chrome bodies turn brown as large reddish bars and blotches appear along the lateral line. When caught at sea or outside of river mouths, where they often co-mingle with hoards of pink salmon, chums are bright, fresh and–when taken home to eat–perfectly delicious. Some sources suggest cooking chum salmon with a sauce to help moisten the flesh, which is dry compared to that of Chinook or Coho.

But chum, also called dog salmon, was once mainly fed to sled dogs in the far north. It’s rarely found in most American seafood markets, as much of the annual catch goes overseas. Efforts to create culinary demand for chum salmon have struggled and have generally relied on false marketing names, like Keta (the Latin species name of the fish) and Silverbrite (as though all ocean-fresh salmon are not both silver and bright).

Coho Salmon

Esteemed as a fighting game fish as much as it is a food fish, the Coho is unofficially ranked as number-two in the salmon clan. It grows large (up to 30 pounds), aggressively strikes lures and flies and fights wildly when hooked. On the table, it performs just as spectacularly. It has a high oil content (though not as high as the Chinook’s) and its meat is rich, red and delicious. In Alaska, Coho salmon remain abundant. The fish are able to spawn in tiny creeks and once did so in virtually every moving West Coast waterway from Santa Barbara to the Arctic. However, south of Canada, Coho habitat–often streams that have been drained, filled, buried or otherwise fouled by development–has dwindled, and so have the fish. Coho cannot be harvested in much of their sub-Canadian range, and most Coho that arrives on your plate is Alaskan.

Sockeye Salmon

This second-smallest of the Pacific salmon may be tied with the Coho in terms of table quality. Sockeye flesh is brilliantly colored–almost fluorescent orange–and even when canned is sold as gourmet-grade fish. When served fresh, it is top notch–firm, rich and flavorful. In fact, many salmon devotees consider sockeye the absolute best of all the salmon–even better than the king–however one decides to cook it. Sockeye salmon spawn almost exclusively in river systems connected to lakes, but this biological prerequisite hardly detracts from their abundance. They rival pinks in terms of millions and historically swam up the Columbia River in water-clogging millions, their heads turning green and their bodies brilliant red. Those days are gone south of Canada, thanks to hydroelectric dams, logging and other forms of habitat destruction, but in the Fraser, the Kenai, the Yukon and other river systems–many hardly wider than a sidewalk–sockeye salmon still thrive, and those fillets so red they seem like they’d glow in the dark remain perhaps the most abundant form of wild salmon.

Read the story at Smithsonian Magazine

July 26, 2013 — Getting more fish into your diet has never been easier—and the payoff in better health and longevity has never been clearer. Whether you’re grilling salmon filets, adding anchovies to stewed vegetables in ratatouille, or serving up “burgers” made with canned tuna, healthy fish can take many forms. Even far from the sea, flash-frozen fish and inexpensive canned options mean there’s no excuse for not enjoying the health benefits of fish.

“The advantages of eating fish are many,” says Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts’ HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory. “Fish offers omega3 fatty acids and, depending on how it is prepared, is low in calories and saturated fat.” Besides the inherent nutritional positives of fish, she adds, substituting fish (not fried or heavily breaded) for entrées such as steak and quiche pays off doubly.

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week, particularly fatty varieties high in omega-3s such as salmon, mackerel, herring, lake trout, sardines and albacore tuna. A “serving” is 3.5 ounces cooked, or about three-quarter cup of flaked fish.

TWO MORE YEARS: Now there’s fresh evidence that following that advice can not only reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, but actually help you live longer—especially if you’re already age 65 or older. “Although eating fish has long been considered part of a healthy diet, few studies have assessed blood omega-3 levels and total deaths in older adults,” says Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, PhD, of the Harvard School of Public Health. New findings by Dr. Mozaffarian and colleagues published in Annals of Internal Medicine, he says, “support the importance of adequate blood omega-3 levels for cardiovascular health, and suggest that later in life these benefits could actually extend the years of remaining life.”

The researchers examined 16 years of data from about 2,700 US adults age 65 or older who participated in the long-term Cardiovascular Health Study. Participants, average age 74, were generally healthy and did not take fish-oil pills. Rather than relying on dietary questionnaires to measure fish consumption, the study took blood samples at baseline to analyze total omega-3s as well as levels of three specific omega-3s found in fish: DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DPA (docosapentaenoic acid).

Read the full story from the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

July 17, 2013 — Each year, Americans consume several billion pounds of seafood. When seafood products are mislabeled for financial gain, that’s seafood fraud, and Steven Wilson is on the case. Wilson is the Chief Quality Officer for the NOAA Fisheries Seafood Inspection Program. He’s the internal watchdog of the Seafood Inspection Program—Wilson audits the auditors, and he’s tough. With skills in food technology and quality management, it’s hard, if not impossible, to pull the wool over his eyes. Who better to give an overview of the current state of seafood fraud and what the future may hold for the seafood industry?

Another NOAA expert, Monty Berg, is a Supervisory Consumer Safety Officer in the NOAA Seafood Inspection Program’s Southeast region. When it comes to seafood fraud, Berg has seen it all. When "On the Line" spoke with him, he gave an up close and personal look at the current state of seafood fraud, and an optimistic view of the future. Berg’s advice to consumers: “Enjoy fish”.

Along with NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection also play key roles in detecting and preventing seafood fraud.

Steven Wilson, Monty Berg, and their partners at NOAA and other federal agencies work with U.S. importers, exporters, wholesalers, processors, restaurants, and retailers to help ensure that the seafood that lands on your dinner plate is exactly what you purchased.

"On The Line" caught up with Wilson and Berg at the International Boston Seafood Show held in March 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Listen to the podcast and read the story from NOAA

July 24, 2013 — You have to look hard to find great seafood options on the kids’ menu, where old favorites like fried fish and chips, and the variations thereof (fish fingers, fish sticks) are often the only options. But a handful of innovators have introduced more sophisticated children’s seafood offerings to their menus, and the items are proving popular, both with kids and parents, who are looking for dishes that are healthful and taste good.

At Joe’s Crab Shack, a U.S. casual-dining seafood chain with 130 locations, the kids’ menu features a steampot, snow crab and grilled popcorn shrimp. Each one is served with healthful sides including celery, applesauce, corn on the cob and rice or vegetables. The company updated its kids’ menu in 2010 and 2011, when it worked closely with registered dieticians provided by San Diego-based Healthy Dining Finder, restaurant consultants that focus on creating healthier items for both the adults’ and kids’ menus.

One of Healthy Dining Finders’ programs is Kids LiveWell, launched in collaboration with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) to encourage restaurateurs to feature one or more kids’ menu items that meet the association’s nutrition criteria. Joe’s Crab Shack was among the first restaurants to get on board, repackaging the way it presented food choices on the kids’ menu so that it highlighted lean protein, vegetables, grains, fruits and low-fat dairy.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource.com

July 24, 2013 — When it comes to seafood, Cape Ann and other Massachusetts restaurants and marketers will be facing new truth-in-labeling mandates if a bill filed by a nearby North Shore lawmaker takes hold.

State Rep. Ted Speliotis, D-Danvers, is co-sponsoring legislation that would require restaurants to clearly label what they’re selling. At the same time, it would put a stop to the practice of substituting escolar — an especially tasty tropical fish known to cause stomach ailments in some — for white meat tuna.

“Fishing is part of our heritage,” Speliotis said. “And this is a way to keep the integrity of the industry.”

More specifically, he added, it will require that Pacific cod is not sold as Atlantic cod. The former is shipped from the West Coast frozen while the latter is a traditional New England product likely to be fresh. By putting a premium on the Atlantic cod, he indicated, prices could improve for local fishermen out of Gloucester and elsewhere. Other species intended for scrutiny are Atlantic halibut, grey sole and red snapper.

Read the full story from the Gloucester Times