Okay, so yesterday I went to a major chain grocery store for a few necessities before going back into hibernation. While there, I saw bin of frozen Alaskan Sockeye Salmon. I decided to buy a package, versus thawed at seafood counter, to avoid having to prepare it so soon. It looked as good as that behind seafood counter, same price, no additives, and, according to label, product of USA. Being Alaskan, it'd better be!
After putting package in my cart, I noticed next compartment of bin was overfilled with all-natural "Pacific Salmon" at half the Alaskan price. Curious where "Pacific" was, I examined a package. The salmon was sickly pale pink, versus non-dyed dark reddish Alaskan salmon. In smaller print on back of package I read country of origin: CHINA!! That explained it.
My immediate reaction was, Why are they selling fish from China, considering pandemic? But this was likely ordered months before. Still, if a store already has a USA product supplier, why did they need to supply this cheaper version from China in first place?
I realize some seafood can only be sourced outside U.S., such as South America and Asia. But when it comes to salmon, there is a choice. We can support American businesses by buying USA-sourced food when available. Not to mention eating a healthier product!
Just remember that if a product supplier is U.S. based, it doesn't necessarily mean the product is. So read your labels.
(While I'm at it, for those of us gals who wear makeup, do internet search for "makeup made in China" and you'll know why I switched brands.)
Thank you for this! I am an Alaskan commercial salmon fisherman and I have been screaming about this for a long time. The garbage they put out should be outlawed. This goes for all seafood. The United States has a beautiful seafood market and we shouldn’t have to import anything. That goes from salmon to shellfish. All coasts of this great country produce a huge amount of good clean sustainable protein. They fill the freezers with the foreign trash because it’s cheap...I also want to point out that there is a false notion of fresh vs frozen where fresh is king. This couldn’t be further from the truth especially with salmon. The absolute best product you can buy is frozen at sea. It’s caught, processed, froze, packaged and ready for market. When you get home and thaw it’s as if you caught it that day. Don’t get me wrong, if you caught a fish and cooked it in a day or 2 that would be ideal. But logistically, it’s almost impossible for a foreign fish to be in your super market within that time frame...It’s hard being in a grocery store and to watch people choose between a farmed or imported fish over a domestic fish because it’s “a little cheaper”. Next time you want to buy some seafood do us all a favor and look at the label, make sure it’s caught in the United States. All Alaskan seafood has to be labeled correctly. Alaska has some if not the best regulations in the world when it comes to commercial fishing. It’s been around a long time and they plan on keeping it sustainable. Thanks peds!
I buy a fuckton of Alaskan Salmon, frozen and canned.