Callander McDowell
Callander McDowell
reLAKSation no 432
Christmas blessing: According to IntraFish, Rasmus Hansson, General Secretary of the WWF in Norway told the TV programme ‘Sånn et livet’ that farmed salmon was the most eco-friendly choice for the Christmas table.
Unfortunately, this recommendation is not all it seems. Mr Hansson was invited onto the programme to discuss the use of wild fish in animal feeds. His view is that it is best to eat wild fish but if the public prefer to chose farmed flesh, that salmon would be the best choice rather than poultry or pork.
Mr Hannson pointed out that there were other factors to consider such as the spread of sea lice to wild fish which is why farmed salmon has been placed on their ‘amber’ (yellow) list of recommended fish and seafood instead of their green list. This includes all those well-known species loved by the environmental activists such as Alaskan pollock. Surprisingly, the WWF in Norway have also given a green light to organic salmon, although Mr Hannson doesn’t seem to have mentioned the fact.
We didn’t see the TV programme so we cannot be sure whether Mr Hansson mentioned that despite his recommendation, the WWF in Norway are considering whether to downgrade Norwegian salmon from yellow and place the fish on their red list with species such as swordfish, tuna and rays.
The rationale for this decision is the increasing problems of sea lice, escapes, environmental issues and the use of fishmeal. This decision to consider regrading salmon is all the more surprising given that the WWF has been trying to work with the salmon industry.
Who knows what will happen to future cooperation if the WWF decide to give a Christmas present to the Norwegian salmon industry of a place on their red list and where will this leave the new WWF endorsed ‘Aquaculture Stewardship Council’? We can only wait and see what 2010 will bring meanwhile let’s hope that Rasmus Hansson has salmon at the centre of his family’s Christmas table.
Le saumon: IntraFish reports that sales of fresh salmon in France have increased by 7.3% to 21,970 metric tonnes during the first ten months of 2009. At the same time, the price has decreased by 2.3% to €10.94/kg. IntraFish don’t quote the source of the data but by coincidence we were in France this week where we conducted our pre-Christmas survey of salmon in the retail sector. Our impression was that there didn’t seem that much salmon about, whether on fish counters or in chilled packs. The days when a sea of pinkness dominated the fish counters have long since gone and although salmon is reported to be one of the most popular fish in France it just seems to be one fish of many.
More interestingly, whilst salmon’s presence appeared to be down, prices were very much up. We presume the data supplied to IntraFish is the average price of all fish sold. We collect specific price information of every product on sale and our findings clearly show prices have increased this Christmas, which would seem to support our observation of reduced availability. Higher prices tend to suppress demand.
To illustrate the upward trend, we will use price examples for whole salmon. Whole fish are not so widely available throughout the year but reappear in the run up to Christmas. We found whole salmon available at prices between €4.50/kg and €11.90/kg. Whilst the highest price fish were from Scotland, the price actually reflected the market position of the particular store rather than the origin since we found both Scottish and Irish fish at €5.50/kg (although the portions and other cuts on the counters were of Norwegian origin). Examples of typical whole fish prices with the price last year include €5.90/kg (€5.50/kg), €6.50/kg (€4.95/kg) and €7.95/kg (€6.95/kg).
Of course, there are exceptions to any observation and prices can vary. Sometimes this occurs between different stores in the same supermarket group, reflecting local demands and price pressures but also it can be just because the product is now simply cheaper.
One example where the price of a salmon product is now cheaper is Scottish Label Rouge salmon. We have discussed previously that over the years that Callander McDowell has being involved in surveying salmon products in France, Label Rouge salmon has been dropped from the fish counters. Two or three supermarkets used to sell Scottish Label Rouge salmon but no longer do so. For the last couple of years, only one supermarket chain has stocked Label Rouge salmon from Scotland. This has been available as a branded 280g chilled pack, which until recently was priced at €8 per pack. This salmon is now available packed under the supermarket’s own label. Packs are still 280g but are now priced at just €7.
Whilst we noticed a distinct increase in the price of fresh salmon, smoked salmon prices were much cheaper. At this time of the year smoked salmon is subject to extensive promotion, yet even so, prices appeared lower. According to IntraFish, sales of smoked salmon are up 12% yet the average price (for Norwegian smoked salmon) was €21.03/kg. Previous reports had indicated that smoked salmon prices had fallen from €22.14/kg in 2008 to €21.90/kg at the beginning of this year. Clearly, this downward trend is continuing.
It is often a puzzle how French consumers are able to choose which smoked salmon product they want to buy. The choice is mind-boggling, although the range has shrunk over the years. Most stores have both branded and own-label smoked salmon made from salmon of different origins in a variety of different pack sizes. The range increases at Christmas as ever larger pack sizes are put on display. Whilst most British consumers are happy to buy packs of up to 400g, French consumers are offered a choice of packs that can be double the size. It is difficult to understand how stores keep track of the range. We have certainly seen the same pack priced differently at different locations in the same store. We have also seen conflicting pricing. For example, one store had 2 packs of 150g smoked salmon on offer for €9.99 whilst on shelf below a larger 280g pack of exactly the same smoked salmon was also on offer for the same price. There seems no logic to the pricing policy.
Whilst the average price for smoked salmon is €21.03/kg, the cheapest we recorded was just €11/kg although there are several packs available at around the same level. (These tend to be budget ranges but even these cannot compete with the £8.72/kg for a standard supermarket own label product currently on offer in the UK).With increasing competition, we suspect that the average price of smoked salmon will continue to fall, reflecting the past development of the fresh salmon market.
However, the changing nature of the market for smoked salmon is not necessarily due to increased competitive pressure. Changes are taking place in France that affect the way food is bought and consumed. Earlier this year, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation hosted a party of French journalists as part of the seventeenth anniversary of the award of the prestigious Label Rouge for Scottish salmon. At the time, Scott Landsburgh, Chief Executive of the SSPO said Label Rouge Scottish salmon is the fish of choice in Paris, regarded by many as the gourmet capital of Europe. This may well have been true once but not now.
Evidence of this change was recently reported by the UK’s Daily Telegraph with the news that France is now the second most profitable market in the world for McDonalds. As the newspaper says’ La Belle France has been conquered by Le Big Mac’
The main reason for this change is the economy. When times are good, restaurants flourish and demand for high quality food soars. However the French economy has spluttered and so has French cuisine.
The newspaper also says that French cuisine has suffered from the fact that more woman go out to work and this has destroyed the traditional family meal times with the result that the French are cooking less than ever. This means that demand for traditional gourmet foods is on the decline. Thousands of bistros, brasseries and cafes are closing every year; small farms are disappearing at a similar rate. Dozens of raw milk traditional cheeses have become extinct and wine consumption has declined by 50% over the last fifty years and continues to plunge. Such changes are apparent on the supermarket shelves where more and more convenience foods are available. It’s not surprising that products like Label Rouge Scottish salmon have also disappeared from the supermarkets. Many French consumers are now looking for something else and we suspect that this something will include ‘convenience’ and ‘value’.
Chip off the block: Come rain or shine, Armstrong’s fish and chip always seems to have a long queue of patient customers that forms around the shop, out of the door and into the street. However, no-one outside the area will have heard of Armstrong’s also known as Home of the Jumbo Cod’ (www.homeofthejumbocod.co.uk )
Armstrong’s is our local fish and chip shop and it always is a puzzle that despite its clear popularity, it has never featured in the national fish and chip shop of the year competition. Frydays, another local (ish) chip shop has made it through to the second round of the competition so, clearly word of the competition has found its way to the area.
It was not until we read the press release announcing this year’s competition that it struck us why Armstrong’s has not received this national accolade. Fish and chip shops have to enter themselves for the competition and because it has such a good local trade, we would imagine that Armstrong’s doesn’t really need to engage in self-seeking publicity to further promote itself.
This year, we have not been prompted to write about the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year competition, even when the shortlist of about one hundred shops was announced that contained around 25 shops that were second or third outlets of the same establishment. One chain, ‘Fish N Chick N’ had nine different shops shortlisted which seemed rather unfair. However, multiple entries didn’t do them any good since none of their shops reached the next round of twenty one regional winners.
The top ten finalists were announced recently and we were surprised to see that another local fish and chip shop was included in the list. The Metro Fish Bar is a newcomer to the area and is both an eat-in restaurant and take away fish bar. Whilst the restaurant appears popular, judging by the cars in the car park, we have never seen anyone in the take-away section (although that doesn’t mean they don’t get custom). However, what has surprised us at Callander McDowell is that whilst the Metro Fish Bar is OK, it is nothing special and in our view, if this is the best fish and chip shop in the North West of England, then the rest cannot be up to much.
Our experience of fish and chips from the Metro Fish Bar has been that the batter, although crisp on the surface has retained oil which is released into the mouth when bitten into. The fish was very firm which suggested that it might have been previously frozen even though they claim that the fish is delivered every day, seven days a week. The fish was bland to taste. The chips were OK.
We have also eaten in the restaurant and the service was slow and poor. Dirty plates were left on vacated tables and ignored by staff. The restaurant has won the toilet of the year competition which perhaps says more about the restaurant than the food.
As we have indicated, the restaurant has seemed to be popular since it opened, however, there may be one very good reason for this. Ever since it opened, the Metro Fish Bar has been consistently advertising free fish and chips in the local newspaper with an advert on the front page where it cannot be missed and a second full page advert inside. The advert includes a voucher with two fish and chip meals for the price of one. In the current economic climate this offer is too good to miss and accounts for their popularity. The advert is in a free newspaper available in most local supermarket so canny members of the public can get hold of as many vouchers as they like. We can only wonder how many of their customers will continue to visit the restaurant without such an incentive? For us at Callander McDowell, the incentive isn’t enough to tempt us back again. The poor food, poor service and less than immaculate toilets have put us off for good.
If the Metro Fish Bar goes on to win the competition and become fish and chip shop of the year, then we can only assume that the judges must know something that their customers don’t.
