salmon packaged (from?) China at Albertsons???
salmon4u
2012-02-02 02:54:54
[attachment=0]DSC02720.JPG[/attachment]Was just at a local Albertsons grocery store, ran across wild salmon 4 oz portions, from China for $1 each.. has anyone seen this or know what's up?
salmon4u
2012-02-02 03:01:22
here's the back
Product of China
Ingredients: Wild Salmon, Sodium Trypolyphosphate
Contains: Salmon (fish)
Our wild salmon fillets are hand cut to perfection. With it's rich tender texture, salmon fillets are easy to prepare and ideal for the BBQ.
This gourmet fish is caught in the cold north pacific waters and are hand cut to specification under our rigorous HACCP Program, ensuring product safety
and quality, all the time, every time.
fvsedna
2012-02-02 03:23:00
That Is probabaly our .90 cent per lb. chum we were catching last year...If so ...great, If Its' a farm raised Imposter, shame on them..
Andrew~
salmon4u
2012-02-02 04:07:37
marked up to one dollar retail per portion in Seattle after Albertsons taking their usual 100 to 200%, even after shipping the fish to China for packaging then shipping it back? that's amazing... I guess the super cheap labor would offset some of the shipping cost. just try buying packaged chum from Alaska and having it shipped to Seattle, see what it costs? maybe having product packaged China is the future. sure is an end run on Alaska Airlines but another loss for our fishing industry jobs.
Salty
2012-02-02 05:02:54
It almost always says Alaska Wild if it is from Alaska. Lots of our pinks and chums are going to China for re-processing but they usually are marked Alaska Wild. I saw some this fall that were Alaska Wild Pink.
Russia is producing a lot of salmon so this could be Russian origin.
yak2you2
2012-02-02 19:36:59
This is same country who's rigorous safety standards allowed for how many kids to die from tainted baby food formula here recently? Don't think I'll be eating this product. Unfortunately, abstaining isn't good enough. when someone gets sick from this cheap product, all salmon producers (us included) will suffer from the fall out. I sure hope U.S.D.A is giving this import the shake down. Almost makes me feel like we should change the name of our fish entirely, just to get as far removed as we can get from the inevitable train wreck. You know how Nilla wafer cookies have to be called that by law because they don't actually contain any Vanilla? I feel like these guys should have to call their stuff something other than salmon for the same reason. It may look like salmon, it may smell vaguely like salmon, but it surely isn't. Pink-dyed protien paste doesn't have much of a market ring to it though does it?
dvharman
2012-02-02 23:42:30
I had a tender tell me all low quality pinks get sent to russia for fillet
spike christopher
2012-02-03 01:08:01
I spend this last November to January traveling the lower forty eight, in many of the towns I would stop and cruise the grocery stores and food markets. I observed the following. In the Northwest King salmon was King with good size silvers coming in second and chums third, chums were also called Kita salmon. There was fairly good knowledge about salmon in general.
As you moved south and east, Alaska’s wild salmon became harder to find. By the time you where in Arizona you couldn’t even find it in the nice restaurants let alone the markets. Traveling farther east to Alabama and Georgia you started to get into the Atlantic salmon, they called this fresh salmon and farmed raised salmon, it sold at $9.99 per pound. All the people I spoke to were proud that they ate salmon. None of them understood the difference nor did they seem to really care. I spoke to all my wife’s relatives, again it was not an issue with them, salmon was salmon. If you read the history of fishing in the northwest, you remember that at the turn of the century they were shipping halibut to the east coast on trains filled with ice because that is where the market was. The Petersburg area was shipping Glacier ice and halibut to Seattle at the same time. We now jump ahead to the modern day dilemma, not a lot different than the late eighteen hundreds. Do we beat our chest and dance around the fire screaming the injustice.
Our King Salmon fishery is being taken away from us by B.C. WA. OR. and CA. I’m not sure how I stand on the China issue, lets lay out some thoughts.
Several Billion mouths to feed, their standard of living rising every year. Russia coming on strong, India and the Asian country’s needing protein. Our chums are going somewhere? The price is up on both chums and pinks. The people of the east coast haven’t a clue to what our salmon are. But from Maine to Florida is the highest concentration of people in the United States. You know what it feels like to vote and not have our vote mean anything as the east coast has already picked the president. That brings a perspective to just how many people are on the East coast. It might do us good to get all these months eating salmon. Think of what the Cooper River fisherman did to sell those rags running up the river. Personally I dislike fishing chums I will fish Kings every chance I get, But I have also shot myself in the foot so many times I’m starting to get gun shy. What say you guys?
annahootz
2012-02-03 01:50:34
Haven't seen the salmon from China at Albertsons but did see some frozen Atlantic Salmon heads at SeaMart the other day in frozen cases by meat market. Also heard SeaMart was sold to Safeway so maybe that explains it. Would'nt buy any fish from them anyway.
Salty
2012-02-03 15:19:56
The Hames family sold to Safeway?
mswkickdrum
2012-02-03 21:53:02
"Our King Salmon fishery is being taken away from us by B.C. WA. OR. and CA. I’m not sure how I stand on the China issue, lets lay out some thoughts."
I have wondered about something related to Spike's comment, so I'll bring it up now. Notice how CCA keeps working relentlessly to remove gillnetters from the Columbia? Why? to save the resource? No. To re-allocate the gill net allocation to the sport fishery. Now the Columbia runs right through a big metro area full of fishing rods. Most of their members are "less" educated on fish issues and probably think the gill netters are "stealing" the fish out of the river. They don't even consider the element of re-building the stocks as a consideration to take action, just "getting theirs" as far as getting more for the poles. When they are done (if they can achieve it, hopefully not) with the Columbia does any one think Alaska's King Salmon quota will be safe? Think about it, two states, WA OR with two BIG metro fish rod areas full of aluminum jet boats that cost more then a corvette and designed with the specifity of a humvee to get a fish onto your rod wherever up the river you might like to go. I can imagine they spend 2000 just to catch each of the fish they ever will catch with that boat. When they see how many of "their" fish out of the Columbia are being caught by the troll fleet, who do you think their next target is? I have been somewhat concerned about this ever since I started my journey to become part of the fleet. Can some experienced and knowledgable folks chime it?
MSW
Salty
2012-02-03 22:18:36
Here is the deal from my perspective. It is not the troll fleet or commercial fishermen vs. the sport and guided sport fishermen. Commercial fishermen lose that battle every time in the South 48 and in the urban areas of Alaska.
What keeps us access is that wild salmon are still an important food to millions of Americans and people around the world. Commercial salmon fishermen provide the access, and business to all the people delivering and purchasing these fish whether in a supermarket or restaurant. Way more people are involved in every pound of commercially caught, processed, purchased, and consumed salmon than those harvested for sport. And the political demographics favor the commercial fishermen, most of our customers are the 99 per centers while those elite able to afford sport fishing or hiring a guide are the one percent in this discussion.
Of course every watershed and salmon stock has unique demographics regarding the mix and wealth of those sport versus commercial harvesters, and this discussion is not comparing subsistence harvest versus either, but, next time you are pondering why a few thousand trollers still exist from California to Alaska when our numbers are dwarfed by salmon sport fish interests, remember all the people depending on you for their salmon versus the few who can harvest them with sport gear.
Trnaround
2012-02-04 02:31:12
Salmon filets from China, is that not free trade at its finest? It's hard to believe that the product can travel that far (assuming it is Alaska salmon) have it processed, ship it back and still have any profit left in it but it seems like it can. It makes you think that possibly we in this country have overlooked an opportunity but more realistically when the numbers get crunched its cheaper to ship the raw materials (no pun intended) to a foreign country to add the value back to the seemingly worthless fish and then ship it back and sell it here. Distance is less a problem than operating a manufacturing business here as opposed to there. The good news and this is my own personal opinion is that product loses its quality much like canning salmon. It doesn't compare with fresh or frozen at sea salmon and the consumer is beginning to know it. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has done wonders to change the perception and educate the consumer on the differences in seafood and quality. More needs to be done so support them where you can and educate people when you can. Like Spike says the farther you are from the NW the more uninformed the consumer is and there is misinformation in abundance. I was in a restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ they were featuring "Sustainable salmon". When I inquired it was Chilean farm raised salmon. On the " sustainability" issue they thought that taking fish from the ocean was not sustainable but that farm raising fish was. Well we didn't have desert and we sure didn't have salmon.
Salty
2012-02-04 03:00:32
I don't think much of our Chinook or coho are sent to China for reprocessing.
The reprocessed Alaska pink salmon boneless filet from China I saw and my wifes relatives were raving about the end of last November was wonderful. Thawed it, put it in the oven, went razor clam digging, took it out of the oven and ate it.
If that is what works to get good salmon at a reasonable price to America then I am all for it.
saltyfish
2012-02-04 04:50:30
The people down in the lower 48 that buy $.99 lb salmon from china would not even consider buying $19.99 lb troll caught king salmon. Totally different markets with a totally different customer base, not everyone can afford the best.
salmon4u
2012-02-04 07:47:45
Well, I hate to say this.. but that one dollar portion from China didn't taste bad. It was a humpy, double packaged, simple to cook. ..man that's cheap! I think Salty is right, I'll bet it was caught in Russia, packaged in China since it's not labeled Alaskan.
I don't see how it could be caught, processed, shipped and sold for that price here in the US.
Trnaround
2012-02-04 16:23:08
It's a good thing if China has a strong economy and can buy Alaska fish at a fair price to the fisherman. That frozen packaged market at that price is attractive to the consumer. The US market for salmon is developing because it is a healthy form of protein. China does not have a good track record when it comes to processing food as far as safety is concerned. They have totally different standards in spite of what they claim. In fact our country is lacking in consistently protecting the consumer The FDA and the USDA have got their issues. Read : What To Eat by Marion Nestle and What's Gotten Into Us by Mckay Jenkins ......interesting. Hey there may be a new one for your lowliner list. "You know you are a lowliner when your feezer is full of Chinese filets from Albertson's."
ericv
2012-02-04 17:48:40
I just returned from a work related trip to San Diego with a stop over in Seattle on the return leg. A grocery store in the Gas Light district in San Diego had ample farmed Atlantic salmon both in fillet and steak form at a price that I recalled would be attractive to the consumer. It was labeled as farmed and that food coloring had been added, and of course to me looked terrible. Also available was "Fresh, previously frozen, wild Alaska Salmon" at $9.99 lb either steak or fillet variety. It was sockeye for sure, color and texture even after all the repackaging was impressive. The employee however did not have clue as to the differences nor cared one bit.
At Seattle I hit Seafood City while at the large mall near SeaTac (was called SouthCenter years ago). A huge variety of seafood on display was obviously farmed raised from all points of the globe. Who knows how many were trawled or snagged by miles of net or line. Again ample amounts "Salmon" with very fine print stating it was farmed but no reference on label as to the added food coloring. The only wild salmon again was identical to San Diego both in price ($9.99), species and packaging. I did notice many of the wild caught steaks at this store still had the blackish/brown blood clumps along portions of the spine, some of the wild caught fillets had dark streaks associated with this as well. An Asian worker noticed my close inspection of this blood clotted Alaska product and he began to pull them. Removed about 75% off the shelf but seemed to do so simply because I had rifled through the stack and was also irritated at my honest and tactful assessment of this product being allowed to be displayed. Prior to this trip, Seamart had same type of packaged sockeye and yes it was $9.99 lb (seems the magic number nation wide).
As articulated by those on this thread and other related threads in the past, reality is (in my opinion) that the average consumer simply has no clue or cares - "fish is fish" as I was once admonished by a farm loving, sneering, land-locked, noose-neck type whom I encountered at Seattle's Pike Place Market. He withered like a spent dick by my blunt, but accurate rebuttal. We see ignorance and apathy from every sector, be it land lubbers, coastal residents to even a few misguided eco-groups. They're certainly are educated consumers that only target ethically caught or raised food sources and it is refreshing to have a dialog with them regarding our superior product. The harsh reality is that there are billions to feed and with that, all types of snake-oil processes play out to profit from that demand, often with unconcerned cost to the species and associated environment. The term "Farmed" actually invokes images of happy animals in lush fields to many of the global clue-less and care-less masses which imprints into the consumer regarding seafood. It galls me to no end that even our own stores here in Sitka have an inadequate supply and variety of what is being off loaded on our docks. What is available has been marked up outrageously and at times is in poor condition - it just makes no sense. On the other hand, our local stores have frozen King salmon heads listed as "Bait" for under $2.00 lb yet that head includes the gill plate collar and lower pectoral fins that are the delicacy of the fish. The belly strips are discarded by the plant, again a delicacy that could be value added - and this is taking place in a major fishing port that brings in some of the finest product in the world.
I'm just ranting as usual but I do feel we can and need keep plugging away at this. I appreciate this forum and the individuals who post these threads, show pictures, quote prices and share discussions they've had.This certainly includes all of those who spend countless hours attending meetings and guiding legislation.
Safe travels and clattering poles to you all.
Just a quickie....
Wild Alaska Chum fillets have popped up in the frozen section at select ICA food chains in Sweden. Pricey, too. Have not seen in Norway yet.
Ha det bra!
JYDPDX
2012-02-04 21:02:33
Last winter, after hanging up the hooks in November I found myself in Portland at a Whole Foods grocery (in portland they call that store "Whole Paycheck") when I was astonished to see in the seafood display case some absolutely beautiful king salmon with a label that read "Wild Alaskan troll caught king salmon from sitka alaska" I took great pride to see that product properly labeled and knowing that, however small, there is a market for that niche.
On the other hand, It was an anomaly.
I pretty firmly agree with EricV that most people think salmon is salmon. It is far too complicated to expect a layperson to understand and value the different quality gradients between pieces of salmon sold in stores and restaurants.
Maybe we should start an advertising campaign designed to get consumers the information they need to understand our products.
mswkickdrum
2012-02-07 00:26:10
I think that's the right idea! Not sure how the cost would get covered looking at how many are on the forum and how many have donated........ but I have some great domains if you or your brother want to put something together.
MSW
spike christopher
2012-02-07 07:07:25
The state of Alaska had a good program several years ago, I think the State had five million which they did a good job on advertising and pushed the wild salmon idea, we ran out of money and nothing has been done for several years now. It would be nice to get that back again.
Salty
2012-02-07 07:21:24
I agree with Spike.
salmon4u
2012-02-07 08:03:36
Why'd the state run out of money? was this funded from fish taxes?
Trnaround
2012-02-07 14:26:59
Great ideas to get better information out to the public. Fish and Game were giving out a booklet at the Commercial Fishing Expo one year, and you could order more for free. It was an excellent and informative book, very well done. It was part of the program you are talking about. I wonder what happened to it. Check out the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute website, (sorry I can't figure out how to post the link). They have excellent information that is designed for the consumer and retailer. A lot of giveaway stuff that is really well done. We framed a couple of their posters and have them hanging in our kitchen. It is a good place to refer someone who wants to know more about fish.
spike christopher
2012-02-07 16:20:50
Abundance
2012-02-09 07:12:43
Sorry to get into this conversation a little late, but I just got back from an ice fishing trip in Wisconsin. I found these "Icy Strait Keta" (chum) fillets for sale at a Meijers for $10.49 lb. Which was not bad, the fish looked very good and the chilean farmed salmon was only a little bit cheaper at $7.49 lb. Everything was clearly marked and labeled. I saw sockeye fillets out on ice to, but i don't remember a price. Frozen Wild Alaskan cod and pollock from Trident were also on display. I also saw some B.C. Pacific Ocean Perch (rockfish) for sale on ice. The staff seemed to know what was what too, although this might have been because the person I talked to frequently sportfished the west coast. At another, cheaper store I also found packages of frozen "northwestern pink salmon" chuncks for $5.00 lb, and seem to be similar to those in the original post. All I can say is that they looked good. Many of my friends and relatives over there already understood very well the difference in quality between wild and farmed salmon, just from their personal experience. I think that our lower value fish like pinks and chums are competitive with farmed salmon in most parts of the the nation, but a budget conscious public might have a hard time justifying splurging for a highly expensive king or coho. I know that if I were not able to catch all that I wanted for basically free, I would probably never be able to afford the stuff.
As someone who believes in "locally Grown" .Its very upsetting the lack of thought/care people have towards the foods they put in them selves . I was born in a major city full of gangs and drugs and all that comes with that and moved to a dairy farm when I was 8. I now know how lucky I really was. Learning what hard work is and where food comes from. We had all the fruits and veggies it was Amazing. I was always fishing or hunting on or around my property and what great memories I have. I now live back in the city in the same bad ass area and grow everything I can in my backyard (which is like 100ftby100ft) Corn, tomatoes,peppers all of it . I was able to see first hand this "Organic" movement take off like wildfire from the days of being on the Ranch to now where its "trendy" to eat healthy ... But with all that said I cannot grow and sell one of any fruit or veggie to anyone I know because they would rather go to Albertsons,BelAir,Food Max or some other Co or Mart or Max. Instead of "keeping it local" or even helping my family by feeding yours . EVEN IF I sell the better tomato at the same LOW price or even low ball the price and still cant get a sell. Its two steps forward three steps back. I want more "American" things around. I don't want my kids eating fish that they didn't catch lol. I want to get the MSG's and GMO's out of everything.
Figured I'd throw my Two-cents in ;) Thank you everyone for everything you do !
Trnaround
2012-02-15 18:29:13
Thanks for your two cents, it's actually worth a lot more than that. At the risk of sounding food freakish you bring up a great point. What is healthy and what is not. In the case of the filets from China they add Sodium Tripolyphospate (STTP) as a preservative and to improve the texture. STTP is a surfactant, used in soap, water softeners,leather tanning, paint emulsifiers and a food preservation. In small quantities it is deemed "relatively safe" by the FDA who is supposed to check the amounts applied for the purpose of food preservation. Do you think they do? STTP can be infused into seafood at quantities that can affect the actual weight of the finished product. I don't know about the above mentioned Keta product but I would suspect it is udergoing the same process. Add STTP and turn Pinks and Chums into Coho like texture and sell them to an unsuspecting public. Like you say most people think fish is fish but hopefully good information will continue to leak out to the public. Here' a website in China if you want to see what else STTP can be used for.....interesting. http://www.made-in-china.com
Trnaround
2012-02-15 18:34:16
Sorry, once you get on the site search Sodium Tripolyphosphate .
salmon4u
2012-02-15 19:53:56
Thanks for the info. The texture and flavor were interesting, different than fresh for sure in the sample I tasted. The scales showed it was a pink salmon. I guess the processing explains it.
I had the pleasure of eating some locally grown ,fresh, grass fed, beef last weekend at a restaurant... Wow, it was a religious experience! I know that eating a fresh wild king salmon is also something I wish everyone could experience. It's unbelievable!
Someday I hope to try fresh Salmon from Alaska haha! The closest thing to fresh Wild Salmon I have ever bin was casting my Ugly Stick with a Flat Fish shoulder to shoulder at Nimbus Hatchery in Sacramento and catching the awsome yet a little beat up Chinook. It was very tasty out of the smoker when my Dad cooked it up ! I have yet to hook another one yet but I am sure I will again ! I enjoy eating "wild" game . The taste is so much better to me. And not to mention how much better it is for your health.
:)