Q: I purchased a 12 ounce package of fish and in the nutritional information it stated 4 servings based on a serving size of 3 ounces, but there were only 3 portions in the package?

A: The “servings per container” declaration is based on an exact weight serving size, so for instance a 12 ounce package will contain 4 servings of 3 ounces (not necessarily 4 portions or fillets). The individual weight of the fish fillets or portions may vary substantially. Our specifications for most packages range from 3 to 6 ounces. So if you have two portions at 6 ounces in a 12 ounce package, then half a portion will equal one serving. A package with 3 portions would mean the portions weighed an average of 4 ounces each, so one full portion would be a serving and a third.

Q: I am concerned about depletion of our marine resources and the fish fillets in the package were only 3 or 4 ounces each, should you be targeting bigger fish?

A: Many of the market names for fish consist of a number of different species within the family that carry the same market name. For instance, in grouper, cod, or salmon, many consumers are familiar with larger family members being marketed, but there are smaller family members that at full maturity will yield small fillets.

Q: I read in my local paper that imported products from China are not safe. Why sell imported products at all and not just products from the USA?

A: As far as product sourced from China, most of the bad publicity in the last year deals with trace levels of antibiotics (measured in PPB, parts per billion) in the aquaculture products. The levels being found are negligible, and to put it in perspective, the municipal drinking water in many U.S. cities also contains trace levels of many of the same antibiotics. Some recent headlines have claimed that the USFDA has banned the importation of some aquaculture products from China. This is not correct.

What the USFDA did was put in place a mechanism where 100 % of the products in question will be tested upon arrival before distribution. Furthermore, the USFDA has publicly stated they are not recalling any products, and consumers may safely eat any products they have purchased. Beaver Street Fisheries, Inc. has been long aware of the possibility of unapproved antibiotics being present in aquaculture products.

As a company, we implemented comprehensive testing procedures at source, well in advance of any state or federal regulatory actions. We are confident the products we are distributing are both safe and wholesome and fall well within federal regulations. Coupling our testing protocols along with the new USFDA testing requirements, China origin fish is and remains one of the safest protein sources on the market.

We also buy and market large volumes of U.S. domestic products as well as products from Ecuador, Bahamas, Peru, China, Vietnam, Chile, Mexico, Iceland, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, The Netherlands, Argentina, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Norway just to name a few, and the reality is we consume much more seafood as a nation than we produce or have resources to produce.

Q: I buy Sea Best brand products all the time and am very happy with the quality, but recently I bought a package of tilapia and a package of tuna and noticed in the ingredients it lists “carbon monoxide.” Is this safe?

A: Carbon monoxide, although poisonous to breathe, is safe to ingest as used on food products. In fact, every time we BBQ or smoke fish or meat, we are subjecting the product to heat, and smoke which is comprised of a number of gases, carbon monoxide being the main one. By removing the heat and other gases and just using the carbon monoxide, a lot of positive things happen with only the possibility of one negative.

On the positive side, if we filleted a fish and treated one fillet with carbon monoxide and not the other, froze both and maintained them at the same temperature, after a short time in the freezer, the fillet treated with the carbon monoxide will taste much fresher as the carbon monoxide not only preserves color, but has anti-oxidant properties and slows the growth of oxidative bacteria. In species that produce histamines, such as tuna or mahi mahi, it appears to slow the production of histamines. The one negative thing that can happen is an unscrupulous packer can treat a poor quality product and make the product appear to be a better quality than it is, although the odor and taste would still indicate an inferior product.

Q: I purchased a 12 ounce bag of shrimp and the bag said 60/80 count shrimp, but there were only 54 shrimp in the bag?