Saving Seafood

US hunger, nutrition programs may lose funding under Trump, experts warn

December 9, 2024 — Based on actions taken by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration during his first term in office, some organizations are voicing concerns that he might try to alter and potentially weaken the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) after he takes office in January – which will in turn impact seafood consumption.

SNAP is the largest federal program aimed at combating hunger in the U.S. and supports around 42 million beneficiaries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US seafood trade deficit hit USD 20.3 billion in 2023

February 13, 2024 — The U.S. seafood trade deficit reached USD 20.3 billion (EUR 18.8 billion) in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. imports dipped sharply from USD 30 billion (EUR 27.8 billion) in 2022 to around USD 25.3 billion (EUR 23.5 billion) in 2023, while exports fell slightly from USD 5.1 billion (EUR 4.7 billion) in 2022 to approximately USD 5 billion (EUR 4.6 billion) in 2023, NOAA trade data showed.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

USDA awards USD 118 million in seafood contracts to US processors

July 17, 2023 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded USD 118.8 million (EUR 105 million) in seafood contracts to U.S. processors.

Announced 13 July, the results show many of the largest U.S. seafood processors landed major contracts to supply the USDA with Atlantic pollock fillets, haddock fillets, rockfish fillets, Pacific shrimp, Pacific whiting fillets, wild salmon fillets, and canned salmon.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

USDA proposes rule to add more seafood to WIC program

November 29, 2022 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued a proposal that would see more seafood added to food packages for the Women, Infants and Children’s Supplemental Nutrition (WIC) program.

The proposed rule, the first food package update of the WIC program since 2009, includes  revisions incorporating recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, USDA said in a press release.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

U.S. to spend $25 million to distribute East Coast fish to nutrition programs

December 27, 2021 — The federal government will spend $25 million on East Coast fish to aid nutrition assistance programs and help New England’s struggling commercial fishing industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it would make the purchase on Atlantic groundfish. That is a group of species such as cod, haddock and pollock that come to the docks in states including Massachusetts and Maine and are popular in seafood markets and restaurants.

The purchase came after members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation called on the USDA to purchase more East Coast seafood through its programs that distribute food to residents in need.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

 

Study finds “cell-cultured” or “cell-based” best label for lab-grown meat

August 19, 2021 — Researchers at Rutgers University exploring the issue of what lab-grown meat products should be called to differentiate them from their traditional livestock counterparts have landed on the terms “cell-based” or “cell-cultured.”

The labeling issue has more at stake than just being accurate: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture require food products to have a “common or usual name” on their labels so consumers can make informed choices, but the fast-growing industry has yet to settle on a term on its own.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maine delegation urges USDA to buy seafood from Maine fishermen

August 19, 2021 — While the U.S. Department of Agriculture has increased its seafood buying in response to the pandemic and directives from Congress, none of the agency’s COVID-related seafood purchases have been awarded to suppliers based in Maine.

Maine’s congressional delegation called out the agency on Tuesday in hopes of drawing attention to product harvested by the state’s small-scale independent fishermen.

“USDA efforts to engage these smaller producers will pay large dividends — supporting and maintaining economic activity in rural areas, and helping develop consumers’ tastes for seafood that is sustainable, affordable, and harvested close to their homes,” U.S. Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, wrote in a joint letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack.

The letter urged the Biden administration to work with small-boat family fishing businesses to fully explore opportunities for Maine seafood products in USDA’s procurement efforts, according to a news release.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

USDA awards USD 10 million in Alaska pollock contracts

August 10, 2021 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded around USD 10 million (EUR 8.5 million) in Alaska pollock contracts to Trident Seafoods and Channel Fish Processing.

Despite the big win for pollock producers, pollock processors left several million dollars of the contract on the table. The USDA said in a notice it could not award contracts for nearly 2.1 million pounds of frozen pollock fillets, 1.5 pounds million pounds of pollock nuggets, and 1.25 million pounds of fish sticks “due to vendor constraints.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

What to Call Seafood Made from Fish Cells

August 10, 2021 — Food companies, regulators, marketers, journalists and others should use the terms “cell-based” or “cell-cultured” when labeling and talking about seafood products made from the cells of fish or shellfish, according to a new Rutgers study in the Journal of Food Science.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture require food products to have a “common or usual name” on their labels, so consumers can make informed choices.

With more than 70 companies around the world developing cell-cultured protein products and more than $360 million invested in their development in 2020 alone, the adoption of one common name is crucial as products move closer to commercialization.

The study by William Hallman, a professor who chairs the Department of Human Ecology in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, confirmed the results from his earlier study comparing seven potential names for these products.

Read the full story at Rutgers Today