Cozy Harbor Seafood of Portland, Maine, U.S.A and Globe Export/Algues de Bretagne of Rosporden, France won the top prizes in the Seafood Excellence Global awards at the 2017 Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium on Tuesday, 25 April.
The winners were chosen from a field of 43 finalists by a panel of judges that evaluated the products based on taste and overall eating experience, packaging, marketability, convenience, nutritional value and originality.
Cozy Harbor won the Best Retail Product award for its Lobster Meat entry, which is composed of steam-cooked Maine lobster meat frozen with liquid nitrogen and packed in a tamper-proof cup with a full-color sleeve. The panel of judges praised the fresh flavor and succulence of the lobster, and the company’s ingenuity in the way it packaged whole tail-, claw- and knuckle-meat taken from two lobsters.
Globe Export/Algues de Bretagne won for best HORECA Product – recognizing the competition’s best hotel/restaurant/ catering product – for its Marinated Seaweed. The company’s fresh, hand-harvested seaweed is cooked, then marinated with spices, oil, vinegar and wine. The product is available in two flavors: dulse with red onion and white wine, and green laver with Brittany shallots and cider vinegar. The judges noted the unique umami flavor this product brings as an accompaniment to other seafood dishes.
In addition to the grand prizes, the judges also presented five special awards, two of which were also won by the grand prize winners. The Marinated Seaweed from Globe Export/Algues de Bretagne was also presented the Seafood Excellence Global special award for health and nutrition. Judges commented that the product is able to provide chefs with a light, healthy and creative way to sauce seafood recipes.
In addition to its grand prize win, Cozy Harbor Seafood also nabbed the Seafood Excellence Global special award for Seafood Product Line for its line of retail-ready flash frozen lobster. The line includes the grand prize-winning lobster meat, as well as twin and split lobster tails packed in vacuum skin packs. All products in the line are featured with full-color sleeves, and the lobster tail packages offer the retailer an option of featuring either the product photo on one side of the pack, or a full view window of the actual product on the other.
The Seafood Excellence Global special prize for convenience was awarded to Vichiunai Europe of Bruges, Belgium for its product, Perles de la Mer. These mini-surimi bites have a scallop taste and judges said they offer a more sustainable way to incorporate the flavor of scallops into a wide variety of recipes. They can be eaten cold, pan-fried, grilled, or poached in salads, stuffed shellfish or fish stews, the company said.
Golden Fresh of Butterworth, Malaysia was awarded the Seafood Excellence Global special award for innovation for its Kuro Prawns product, featuring Argentine red shrimp coated in a black bamboo charcoal-infused panko crumb. The company said it is designed for bars, tapas, cocktail events and Japanese restaurants. The panel of judges the juiciness of the prawns, the crispiness of the coating and its unique appearance.
Delpierre of St. Aignan de Grand Lieu, France was presented the Seafood Excellence Global special award for retail packaging for its product Sushi Mix - Visiopack. The product combines nigiri and maki sushi, along with soy sauce, wasabi, ginger and wooden picks, in what judges deemed a highly innovative packaging. The modified atmosphere package, developed by Comptoir Sushi, preserves the taste and texture of the sushi and allows the product’s shelf life to be extended to 10 days.
The judges for the 2017 Seafood Excellence Global competition were jury chairwoman Debby Verheyen, a fish product expert for Delhaize in Belgium, as well as Pierrick Lec’hvien, the director of fresh seafood for System U in France; Michel Jenquin, a seafood buyer with Colruyt in Belgium; Joann Simon, the category buyer for meat, fish and poultry for Whitbread UK; and Gabriel Chopitea, the director of food and beverage for the business and industry division of Elior in Spain. The judges’ scores were verified by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young.
The winners and finalists are on display through the end of the expo in the Patio, Stand P-4619 - 4635 at Seafood Expo Global and Seafood Processing Global.
