In brief: Oil spill No. 1 food story of 2010

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill’s impact on the U.S. seafood supply was the No. 1 food-related story of 2010, according to a survey released by New York-based Hunter Public Relations on Tuesday.

Of the 1,000 Americans polled online, 68 percent cited concern over the safety of Gulf seafood due to the unprecedented oil spill as the No. 1 food-related story of this year. The nationwide egg recall came in at No. 2, followed by the recall of 35,000 pounds of beef due to possible E. coli contamination at No. 3, calorie counts on restaurant menus at No. 4 and new legislation on child nutrition at No. 5.

This is the first time in three years that an environmental-related food story has topped the eighth annual year-end survey.

New Orleans seafood to be big in 2011

Phil Lempert, also known as the “Supermarket Guru,” on Wednesday released his top six food trends of 2011, and among the trends is “Big Easy Seafood.”

As the Gulf of Mexico seafood industry recovers from the devastating oil spill, expect a spiritual and economic rally to support New Orleans and Gulf seafood, said Lempert. Expect retailers to create “major” promotions that position the Gulf Coast as the new epicenter for food, he added.

Captain D’s names head of menu development

Captain D’s on Wednesday appointed restaurant industry veteran Peter Gibbons as VP of product development to lead the revival of the quick-service seafood chain’s menu.

Gibbons previously served as senior director of research and development at Burger King and VP of product development at Denny’s. Most recently, he spearheaded the product development division as VP of culinary at Buffet.

“Peter’s unique talents and wealth of knowledge match perfectly with the new direction of Captain D’s,” said Captain D’s CEO Phil Greifeld, who took the position in September. “I came to Captain D’s aware of the areas we can improve upon and I am confident that Peter will be an important factor in moving our brand forward.”

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