Deutsche See GmbH and Alfocan S.A. captured the gold in the ninth annual Seafood Prix d'Elite new products competition at the 17th annual European Seafood Exposition in Brussels.
The winners were selected from a field of 36 finalists and announced on Tuesday at a reception in Auditorium 2000 of the Brussels Exhibition Grounds.
Deutsche See GmbH of Bremerhaven, Germany, won the best new retail product with its Seasonal Fresh Fish Convenience-Salmon in a Wooden Leaf. Deemed an innovative approach to barbecuing fish by the judges, the product is created by seasoning salmon with an aromatic marinade and then wrapping it in a wafer-thin wooden leaf.
Each packet is garnished with a lemon slice and a bay leaf. The wood wrapper makes the salmon easy to barbecue, protects it from overcooking and adds a spicy, smoky flavor to the fish as it chars on the grill. The judges particularly noted the unique approach to combining wood smoke flavor and fish, and how easy the product is for consumers to prepare.
Alfocan S.A. of Seville, Spain, won the best new foodservice product for its Crayfish Skewers. The product is made from 100 percent natural cooked, peeled and deveined crayfish tails, and packed under modified atmosphere. The skewers are ready-to-eat or can be browned gently on a griddle. The judges noted that the product has no additives and the convenience it offers to hotels, restaurants and caterers.
In addition to the grand prizes, five special awards were also announced:
Deutsche See's Salmon in a Wooden Leaf was also presented with an award for originality. The product offers a sophisticated way to barbecue more fish, and to provide a new option for consumers nervous about barbecuing seafood.
Fish ‘n R?sti from Royal Greenland of Aalborg, Denmark, received an award for convenience. The product is a combination of MSC-certified Alaska pollock topped with a creamy mustard sauce with a twist of Madagascar pepper. The entrée is completed by a potato rösti slice and held together by a light breading.
The health and nutrition prize went to Vinh Hoan Corp. of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for its Seafood Harmony, barramundi combined with jumbo black tiger shrimp and sea scallops and topped with sun-dried tomato, capers and roasted garlic butter sauce. The seafood is then hand-wrapped in a traditional en papillote wrapper, which is designed to steam the seafood in its own moisture with very little added fat.
The Organic Smokehouse of Montgomary, Great Britain, captured the award for retail packaging for its Elderflower Cured Organic Salmon. These organic salmon fillets are cured in a mixture of Sicilian lemon juice, fragrant organic elderflower, salt, pepper and sugar. More subtle and delicate than most gravlax, it has the sugar-salt tang of a Scandinavian-style cure, and also a fragrant hint of elderflower.
The new Seaforth line of ready-to-serve products from Marine Harvest in Brugge, Belgium, was presented with an award for seafood product line. This health-oriented retail line features a range of raw and cured seafood preparations, including Sashimi of Salmon and Tuna, Salmon Carpaccio, Tuna Carpaccio, Salmon Tartar, Tuna Tartar and Salmon Belle-vue.
The judges for the 2009 Seafood Prix d'Elite were Juergen Pauly, category manager for Fresh Fish with Globus in Germany; Gorka Azkona Saez, category manager for Grupo Eroski in Spain; Tam Nguyen, private label and import manager for Système U in France; Guy Denon, category manager for Delhaize Group in Belgium; and Peter Joyner, marketing director-contracts for Elior in the United Kingdom. Joyner served as chairman of judges, and the judges' scores were verified by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.
Seafood Prix d'Elite finalists were judged on taste and overall eating experience, packaging, marketability, convenience, nutritional value and originality.
April 28, 2009
