January’s most-viewed: Contessa, Icelandic

Here's a look at SeafoodSource's most-read stories and commentaries of January 2011:

5) In a story that's still unfolding, Canada's High Liner Foods on 4 January made an unsolicited offer to acquire the Icelandic Group for EUR 340 million (USD 449.4 million). At the time, Icelandic's owners were in exclusive talks with a German private equity firm. But Icelandic has reportedly opened up negotiations following pressure from sources outside  Iceland.

4) For the first time, the U.S. government is recommending all Americans, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, to eat seafood at least twice a week for heart and brain benefits, as part of its new dietary guidelines updated every five years. This is much-welcomed news not only for federal nutrition policy but also for the Food and Drug Administration-Environmental Protection Agency seafood-consumption advisory for methylmercury, which many in the industry say is in desperate need of change.

3) In the run-up to Christmas and the New Year, smoked salmon is one of the most heavily promoted food items in British supermarkets. But cheap smoked salmon is doing the industry no favors.

2) The idea was to ignite a dialog on sustainable seafood, and it did. But it also drew criticism from the environmental community. Legal Sea Foods and the New England Culinary Guild hosted a four-course dinner in Boston on 24 January, featuring so-called blacklisted seafood, including fritters with black tiger shrimp, cod cheeks and prosciutto-wrapped hake. Check out our Q&A with Roger Berkowitz, president and CEO of Legal Sea Foods, and our take on the mainstream media coverage of the event.

1) A week ago, Contessa Premium Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The San Pedro, Calif., company, which produces frozen shrimp and ready-to-cook seafood meals, attributed the restructuring to difficulties at its state-of-the-art processing plant in Commerce, Calif. It also cited the global financial downturn and “intense competition.”

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