reLAKSation 262. Callander McDowell
More mixed messages: Not a week seems to go by without more conflicting messages appearing in the press. According to IntraFish, British retailer Waitrose announced that fresh fish is now outselling chicken in their stores. Sales of fresh fish have increased by 20% compared with fresh poultry which has increased by only 6%. Oily fish is a particularly strong seller.
At the same time, the Scotsman newspaper reported that a £100 million, ten year governmental health drive has failed. The Scottish Diet Action Plan has failed to achieve any of its targets. Most notable are that the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, with a target of 400g per day has fallen from and average 249g in 1996 to 246g in 2004. Over the same period, consumption of brown and wholemeal bread for which the SDAP set a daily target of 77g fell from 26.5g to 19.7g. However, the most significant decline has been in the consumption of oily fish. The target set for the weekly consumption of oily fish was 88g which was over double the amount of oily fish eaten in 1996. Since then, consumption in Scotland has fallen from 35.1g to just 31.8g per person per week.
So why is there such an apparent discrepancy between the two sets of data? The answer lies in the way the data has been interpreted and it seems that interpretation is everything. John Fiorillo, writing in IntraFish, suggests that one of the main reasons why fish is outperforming chicken is due to concerns about bird flu. Mr Fiorillo may well be worried about the risks of bird flu but it is probably the last thing on the mind of Waitrose customers when they make their buying choices. Bird flu is just not an issue in the UK and apart from a dead swan found in the Scottish fishing village of Cellardyke, it never has been one.
Instead, increased consumer purchases of fish reflect a growing concern for health related eating amongst Waitrose customers. However, Waitrose customers do not reflect the make up of the UK public so whatever conclusion can be drawn from Waitrose's section of the public, it is unlikely that it can be extrapolated to cover the whole population. This is because Waitrose customers tend to be middle class and more knowledgeable and better informed about the health benefits of certain foods than the population as a whole. Certainly, the evidence coming out of Scotland would suggest that a large percentage of the population is quite happy to continue eating the foods they already eat. The Scottish experience may be a little more extreme than that found in the UK population but it does seem to be the case that the British public's attitude to healthy eating may more reflect the Scottish experience than that found by Waitrose.
It is also worth pointing out that whilst Waitrose suggest that fish is outselling chicken with sales growth of 20% as compared to 6% for chicken, fish consumption is much lower than for chicken and therefore 6% growth in chicken sales is likely to still outweigh the much larger reported growth in fish sales. In addition, these figures are for just fresh chicken and fish and ignore the widespread growth in sales of added value chicken products.
The second series of Jamie’s Schools dinners was broadcast this week coinciding with the introduction of more healthy eating menus into many schools. Despite his efforts, the new healthier menus have not gone down well with a large percentage of the school population. BBBC Breakfast TV focused on one school in Leicester where they found the uptake of school meals had fallen by 41%. Instead, many school children have resorted to packed lunches, which in many cases are considered to be unhealthier than the school dinners they replaced. Alternatively, many school kids leave the school premises during the lunch hour and visit the local ‘chippie’ to buy fish and chips. In one case reported in the news, students who were prohibited from leaving the school grounds during the lunch hour, had packages of fish and chips ‘delivered’ through the school railings by parents. They did this because they said that their kids didn’t like the quality of the food the school provides.
The Soil Association, responsible for laying down the standards for organic food production, then waded into the debate when their school meals policy advisor, Jeanette Orrey called on the ‘fish and chip’ mums to stop the deliveries equating fish and chips with junk food.
As Seafood Intelligence points out, this will comes as something of a shock to Seafish who actively promote fish and chips as a healthy meal. Their website states that ‘fish and chips is one of the healthiest forms of takeaway food with a third fewer calories and over 40 per cent less fat than dishes such as donner kebab, chicken korma or cheese and tomato pizza.’
The Soil Association’s suggestion that fish and chips are not so healthy appears to be at the root of the problem with the healthy eating campaign. It seems to be a case of all or nothing. For example, BBC News reported that one parent had complained that her daughter had the treat part of her otherwise healthy packed lunch taken off her by the school. The treat was one chocolate biscuit. This is a sure fire way to turn not only school kids, but also their parents, against this latest fight against obesity and unhealthy eating.
We, at Callander McDowell, believe that this latest effort to persuade kids to eat healthier meals is exactly the same problem which the salmon industry has encountered in its attempts to persuade more people to eat oily fish. Our view is that if the public won’t eat more oily fish then it is essential to look at what the public does eat and then adapt the oily fish accordingly. In much the same way, school kids must be persuaded to try new healthier options by adapting those foods that they do want to eat. Jamie Oliver has tried this approach and it does work. Where it falls down is if the children are denied absolutely everything that the nutritionists consider bad.
According to fishupdate.com, McCains, the chip maker, had already argued that demonizing chips would not make children eat so called healthy foods. They said that chips have a place in a balanced diet both at school and home. They have a point.
Twice a week: Intrafish report that Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose have all signed up as partners for the up and coming Seafish Seafood Week, which has the theme ‘twice a week’.
Seafood Week is now firmly established as an annual fixture in the calendar and every year it is deemed to have been a great success. It may well be a great success but as with every previous year, we, at Callander McDowell try to make a point of looking out for various events and every year, we have great difficulty in developing any enthusiasm for what we have seen.
The greatest problem, as we see it, is how to persuade the public to try fish if they don’t already eat it. The promotions, for what they are, usually focus on the fish counter, a section of the supermarket which such consumers never visit. Waitrose are to offer 20% discount on most of its fresh fish but if customers don’t visit the fish counter then how can they be tempted. Morrison’s are to produce a 16 page leaflet with recipes and articles about their seafood but in previous years this similar publicity material can only be found on the fish counter.
This year, Sainsbury’s are to set up an in store sampling campaign. This is much more promising and we hope that this might put fish and seafood in front of those who need to be made aware of what they are missing. The fact that every supermarket in the country will not be offering a similar chance to taste fish and seafood must be considered to be a missed opportunity if we are to persuade the public of the benefits of seafood as well as demonstrating how good it is to eat. No doubt we will return to this subject as Seafood Week progresses.
We have noticed that other supermarkets, besides those announced, are also promoting the week. The supermarket Somerfield has just published its monthly customer magazine for October. In their Foodie File, they have interviewed James Martin, the celebrity chef who is the official face of the 2 a week campaign. The magazine starts by asking him ‘what’s the 2 a week campaign?’ He replies ‘fish is a great food and very healthy. Eating two portions a week can help keep you healthy. We’re not asking people to change their lives, just to include fish in their diets. Whilst we’re an island surrounded by water, lets use the produce available to us!’
Second question – ‘what food could you never be without?’ My granny’s bacon sandwich…….
95%: Fishupdate.com report that 95% of the Scottish salmon farming industry has now signed-up to the Code of Good Practice and the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation is now calling for 100% sign up. Sid Patten of the SSPO said that it is excellent news that 95% of the industry has signed up as it demonstrates the industry’s commitment to good practice and environmental stewardship.
Whilst this announcement is good news it is also puzzling. How much of the industry actually constitutes 95%? Previously, the official industry organisations always referred to their membership as a percentage of production so we can only presume that this figure means the same. The problem is 95% of how much production? The last official figures for Scottish production were for the year 2004 when 158,099 tonnes were produced. The forecast for the year 2005 was only 136,056 tonnes, a difference of about 22,000 tonnes. At the same time, the European Salmon Producers Group were forecasting production of about 110,000 tonnes, a difference of nearly 50,000 tonnes. As yet, the official government figures for 2005 are not yet forthcoming so we do not have any clear idea as to what tonnage was actually produced in 2005 nor how much is forecast for this year.
With different forecasts of up to 50,000 tonnes, the five percent of farms who have not signed up to the code could be just one or it could be a handful or even several very small farms. There is no way of knowing. It is even possible that these errant farms are the remnants of the seemingly now defunct EUSPG?
Equally, the SSPO have made no mention as to why these farms have not yet signed up. Whilst it could be that these farms object to the code, it is just as likely that it is the politics behind the code which has deterred them for making this step. Whatever the reason, 95% compliance means that there is still an element of doubt and clearly until the Scottish Executive publish the latest production data, it is unclear how much doubt there really is.