Emerging from its coldest winter for 30 years, Zaragoza in northern Spain was the aptly named venue for Frozen '09, the third annual International Frozen Food Exhibition held last week.
Billed as "the international meeting point for the whole frozen foods sector," the show was attended by professionals from the food and hotel trades, gastronomy and institutional catering.
Spanish seafood suppliers were among the exhibitors. Mariscos Gilmar of Pontevedra, which is located in the Galician region of northwest Spain, had its octopus products on display.
Known worldwide as one of the best sources for quality octopus - characterized for its exceptional size and flavor - the company's octopus is caught in the Galician River mouth, which is rich in plankton and has ideal oceanographic conditions for the breeding of cephalopods and shellfish in general.
Gilmar's co-owner Falome Gil explained why, especially in this current economic climate, it was essential to exhibit at the three-day event.
"It has been such a positive experience with regards to contacts with new clients and for maintaining continued contact with our current clients," said Gil.
The new product that received the most interest was Gilmar's octopus stew and its semi-conserved octopus prepared with three different sauces - garlic, olive oil and seafood sauce.
"The beauty of this product is that besides maintaining the best texture and natural flavors, it has a shelf-life of six months when conserved in a chilled cabinet," Gil said. "These products also lack additives and preservatives as this is a feature initiated by Mariscos Gilmar S.L. since the year we began operating."
Also from Pontevedra and exhibiting at Frozen '09 was the Marfrío Group, which specializes in processing and distributing frozen seafood.
According to marketing spokeswoman Montse Prado, the company's new brands Sir Tibu and Seafrío were also well received as "tailor-made brands to cater to our consumers' needs," including flour-coated cuttlefish, hake medallions in batter and squid strips in breadcrumbs.
March 18, 2009
