reLAKSation 211.
Taste the difference: Many consumers opting to buy organic food expect it to taste different to that which is produced conventionally. This may be true for some meats produced from animals allowed to roam and forage for their food, but may be less so for vegetables, which grow in the ground regardless of the production method. When it comes to salmon, the question of taste is more difficult to qualify. Certainly, producers such as Angus MacMillan are clear as to the answer. He told Speciality Food magazine that the tastes are very distinct. He explained that the oil levels in the feed are reduced by 30% compared to that of conventional fish and this produces fish that are less oily and fatty. We, at Callander McDowell, understand this to mean that any differences in taste are due to the lower oil content in the feed, which produces less fatty flesh and thus any difference in taste is simply due to lower fat levels. Clearly, as we pointed out in the last issue of reLAKSation, salmon farmers do not have to farm organically to produce fish with less fat in the flesh, which suggests that the difference in taste between organic and conventionally farmed salmon is actually extremely minimal.
Speciality Food magazine also raised the question as to whether there is any difference between wild and ‘farmed’ salmon. They asked Halliday and Lloyd, a company marketing wild Scottish and wild Alaskan smoked salmon to clarify the differences. According to Mr Lloyd, the taste of wild salmon is completely different to the two other varieties. He said that “gourmet food lovers specifically appreciate its delicate natural flavour and superb melt in the mouth texture leaving a gentle but delicious salmon and smoke after taste. This contrasts with the oilier texture and flavour found in conventionally and to a lesser degree organically farmed salmon.” Yet again, taste differences are attributed simply to the oil content of salmon flesh. Perhaps, if this issue is proving to be a barrier to sales, the salmon farming industry may need to reconsider its feeding strategies and produce a fish with less body fat. Certainly, celebrity chefs appear ready to reject ‘farmed salmon’ as ‘junk’ food. It was only a few weeks ago that Richard Corrigan criticised farmed salmon as being too fatty on the BBC TV programme Full on Food. He said that he would never consider using farmed salmon in his kitchens however after tasting organic salmon from Irish producers Clare Island, he soon changed his mind. Since Mr Corrigan claimed that he had never eaten farmed salmon before, it was difficult to understand how he knew that they were too fatty. The programme also ran a taste test in which seventy percent of the audience said that they preferred the wild salmon to either organic or conventionally farmed salmon.
The trouble with taste tests is that not only is taste is a very personal thing but there is also significant variation in each class of salmon. Thus, it is possible to get poor quality wild salmon as well as the best. The same applies to both organic and conventionally farmed salmon. The problem with the BBC taste test is that there was no information about each salmon and whether they had been prepared in exactly the same way. For example, one sample might have been freshly cooked, whilst the other may have sat around under heat lamps to keep it warm. We just don’t know.
During a visit to the London Fine Food Fair, one of our consultants was offered samples of standard smoked salmon made from conventional, organic and wild salmon. Considering that these samples came from companies at the premium end of the market, he was generally unimpressed. Certainly he couldn’t tell any real difference between the three types but he believed that this was not due to the salmon itself but rather the smoking process. He said that he had tasted better smoked salmon from Aldi than the offerings at the Fine Food Fair.
We, at Callander McDowell, thought that it would be interesting if we organised our own blind tasting. The three contestants were Wild salmon from the River Lune bought from Booths supermarkets at £21/kg. Clare Island organic salmon bought from Tesco at £15.05/kg and Tesco’s standard salmon fillet (which could have been of Scottish or Norwegian origin) for £6.27/kg. The organic was prepacked because it was the only way we could ensure that we had the same salmon that impressed chef Richard Corrigan, the other two fillets were bought from the fish counter.
Identical cuts from each fillet were cooked for the same time in the same pan and served together. The general consensus was that all three were excellent. In fact it was extremely difficult to ascertain any differences at all between the three. Certainly, the view was that on the question of just taste, there seems to be no justification for paying more for organic or wild salmon. Of course, we recognise that those consumers who want to buy organic salmon do so because of the organic principles of production. Our own view is that all the salmon tasted makes really good eating and in the case of the farmed salmon, the industry should be proud that it can produce fish that are just as good as the wild.
Free to choose: Organic production is not the only way for salmon farmers to diversify away from the competitive pressures of producing conventional salmon flesh. Some Scottish farmers have opted to produce salmon under the Freedom Food logo.
Freedom Food concerns the welfare of the animals produced and covers agriculture as well as aquaculture. The scheme has been developed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Freedom Food scheme aims to improve the life of as many animals as possible including fish. It dictates issues such as stocking density, grading, handling and slaughter. Fish produced under the scheme can carry the Freedom Food logo.
Although the scheme has been around for about ten years and is underwritten by a major UK organisation, Freedom Food meat is not widely available in British supermarkets. It usually comes and goes depending on public awareness and receptivity. Freedom Food products usually cost more than conventionally produced foods, reflecting higher production costs. However, while many consumers might express concern about production methods, the reality is that most are simply not prepared to pay a higher price to ensure higher welfare standards. This is why Freedom Foods are not so prominent in British stores. Freedom Foods are currently experiencing something of a resurgence with the label appearing in two or three more stores, mainly on poultry. The renewed interest may be riding on the back of interest in organic production, but whether interest can be sustained remains to be seen.
It is three years since the first salmon producer was accredited with the Freedom Food logo but as yet, no fresh salmon has been sold in the British supermarket sector with a Freedom Food label or certainly, we at Callander McDowell, have not seen any yet. This is surprising since many supermarkets have become committed to supporting ethical and welfare issues. The most prominent of these is the Co-op as can be seen from the fact that just this week, as Shetland-News reported, one of the Co-op’s employees has been responsible for having Shetland recognised as a Fair Trade Island. The Co-op are also responsible for launching the first Freedom Foods salmon product in the UK. This is frozen Thai fishcakes.
This appears to be a strange product to select as the first to include Freedom Food salmon. Firstly, it is hidden away in the frozen section, which according to most commentators is a sector which is fast declining in the UK. Secondly, it is a product in which the salmon is concealed within a host of other ingredients. Surely, it would make more sense if the benefits of Freedom Food were sold as the fresh raw flesh. Yet, despite their ethical and welfare credentials, the Co-op has not yet introduced fresh Freedom Food salmon to its shelves and the reason is quite clear. Simply, most Co-op customers are unlikely to pay more for Freedom Food products. Whilst the Co-op do not sell Freedom Food salmon, they have tried to sell other meats under the Freedom Food label. They recently launched a Freedom Food turkey product but this is already subjected to discounting from £9.49/kg to £7.49/kg.
In the case of salmon, Co-op customers are unwilling to pay a high price for salmon, whatever the label. This is why, despite the current higher salmon prices, for the last month the Co-op have been selling conventional farmed salmon at an apparent 50% discount, although our observations have shown that it has never been sold at the higher price.
It doesn’t matter which ethical or welfare production methods are used to farm salmon, the reality is that they are worthless if the consumers are unwilling to pay more for them. After all consumers are free to choose.
A lack of presentation: IntraFish report that speaking on the second day of the 4th Value Added Seafood conference in London, Dave Hammond of Shetland Smokehouse, UK supermarkets should take a lead from upmarket retailers like Harrod’s and countries like Spain and Japan, when presenting seafood. Mr Hammond said that there is not the same incentive in the UK as elsewhere to buy seafood in the average supermarket. However, we, at Callander McDowell, are not convinced that Mr Hammond is right.
British supermarkets are responding to their customer’s needs in exactly the same way that Harrod’s or Japanese or Spanish supermarkets do. Mr Hammond also said that we must move into the 21st century as the days are gone when the public only wants to eat cod. British supermarkets have already recognised this fact and have responded accordingly. That is why they promote the fish they do. They have responded to the needs of their customers. It would be totally pointless promoting fish in the way that Spanish and Japanese supermarkets do that would be as alien to British customers as if Japanese supermarkets promoted fish in batter to their customers.
We wonder whether Mr Hammond’s view of the UK market is perhaps clouded. As part of data collection for our market surveys, we, at Callander McDowell visit many British supermarkets and have observed significant variation in the way the stores promote seafood, not only between different store groups, but also within stores of the same group. This is because local demand can change through differences in the local population. This may not be apparent to Mr Hammond, yet it is. Some stores have extremely wide offerings whilst others can supply only the basics. Some sell huge quantities of fish and seafood, whilst others don’t. This is down to the local demand.
In our view, it doesn’t really matter how sophisticated the presentation of fish and seafood has become, the real challenge for UK supermarkets is that many customers, especially those in the younger age groups, do not even look at the fish counter. The fundamental question is how can supermarkets attract these consumers to the fish counter and persuade them to buy fresh fish? Improved presentation is not the answer.