Categories
Educational

Success Story: How Our Japanese Clients Overcame African Octopus Price Problem

African octopus is the most in-demand octopus in the world. Japanese market is an eager buyer of frozen on-board and frozen at-land high quality octopus. Moroccan and Mauritanian octopus is dominant in the Japanese market, but buyers usually face the frequent price volatility. While octopus is in its shortage supply of materials worldwide and high price situation, Japanese buyers have to go looking for new sources to fill the gap.

The strong demand in Europe made it harder for Japanese buyers to secure products, especially European buyers snapped up the size preferred by the Japanese market (size T6), forcing the Japanese to bid on sizes T7 and T8, which in turn pushed up prices on these sizes. The competition of Japanese buyers for octopus’s supply is not only with European buyers/distributors but also with manufacturers who processed and exported to large market like the USA. These factors cause shortage in supply and most importantly consumer price to be too high, thus shrinking demand from final consumers.

Our Japanese client wanted to find a solution for their famous fried octopus ball called “Takoyaki” which required octopus cooked and cut as its main ingredient. They wanted a soft and white octopus, comparable with the quality of African octopus, with a more stable pricing. LP Foods proposed Mexican octopus and set up the whole supply chain for the client. The process starts from the sourcing of raw materials in Mexico, to the finished products from high technology cooking and cutting production line in Vietnam.

The 10 years plus of exporting Mexican octopus to Japan shows our reliable and honest working ethics, as well as LP Foods commitment to offering superior quality seafood products through our Responsible Sourcing.

Are you interested in octopus whole, raw cut, cooked?

Feel free to drop us a line!

Newsletter Sign Up
Subscribe to @Source mailing list

  • Market Information
  • Product Information
  • QA Education

Previous blogs

Categories
Educational

Success Story: Esca, No. 1 Clam & Pasta Sauce in Italy, and LP Foods High Quality Clams Supply Chain

Italians are well known for loving Vongole very much. Who has never eaten Spaghetti Alle Vongole in his life? You know what we mean.

A family company with 3 generations of seafood heritage and a modern processing factory in Central Italy, Esca is the Italian leader of high quality clams with pasta sauces which Italian families everyday use to replace the uncertain quality of canned clams.

They called it Condipresto, a name to represent the idea of cooking pasta on the side (Italians like to personalize their pasta, often ‘al dente’) and to use their sauce (in Italian: ‘condire’). An 8 minutes process, therefore ‘presto’ (fast).

20 years ago (oh yes, long time) Esca came to LP Foods asking us to set up the supply for them of Asian clams in shell and Asian clam meat for their Condipresto, but to guarantee the most strict quality standards: no chemicals, additives in production; no foreign corps of any kind, be it broken shells, or small crabs, or algae; no sand, even the slightest hint; no mud on the outer shell, black water drops, bad smell. It took years to improve the supply chain and to sensibilize the plants to the importance of delivering a premium product for a seafood traditionally seen as ‘poor’ due to the low unit cost.

20 years later, Esca and LP Foods are still going strong together: Condipresto is by far the #1 Pasta Sauce in Italy with millions of boxes consumed every year by Italian pasta lovers.

See the video of Condipresto:

Are you interested in high quality white clam?

Feel free to drop us a line!

Newsletter Sign Up
Subscribe to @Source mailing list

  • Market Information
  • Product Information
  • QA Education

Previous blogs

Categories
Educational

Chem-free shrimp – Key to future of shrimp production

What is Chem-free shrimp?

Chem-free shrimp refers to  products that did not undergo any treatment with moisture retention agents (MRAs).  There are two kinds of MRAs on the market: phosphate-based and phosphate-free. MRAs are typically added to protect shrimp from freezer burns and retain moisture. Many companies process shrimp with MRA agents as the added weight makes products heavier, which allows companies to sell at a lower price. 

Moisture control

Successful programs for the control of moisture in shrimp depend on the proper concentrations of phosphates for the best product performance and consumer preference. Exposure time and the related product temperatures are key factors in developing a process that provides product protection without compromising product taste, texture, or appearance. 

Ideally, buyers or processors should conduct studies with actual products and processing operations that include the opinions of the most important people in the value chain, consumers. The results will determine the best treatment specifications for their particular shrimp products. 

Many shrimp operations are ahead of the game, with outstanding treatment specifications already in practice. Some, however, stretch the use of additives as far as possible. These operations have divided the U.S. market into pro phosphate buyers and anti phosphate buyers. 

Target moisture level 

Buyers have a legal and moral responsibility to provide consumers with safe, top-quality shrimp. Product specifications that identify acceptable phosphate types, concentrations, exposure times and treatment temperatures are a proven approach for consistent and preferred quality. On the other hand, buyers who do not want any applications of phosphates or similar additives should specify they want no additives, including nonphosphate blends. 

What is the difference?

In the retail sector, chem-free shrimp does not seem to be trending yet. The price point deters consumers as untreated shrimp is generally more expensive. They are about 5-10% more expensive, depending on the size and product form.

Consumers who buy treated shrimp which is cheaper and has the desired moisture and flavor, but they pay for more water and less shrimp. Moreover, the treated shrimp cooks differently from untreated shrimp. With such a high moisture content, they steam rather than sear when you try to sauté them. They also have a bouncy, rubbery texture and stay oddly translucent even after cooking.

Are you interested in Chem-free shrimp?
Feel free to drop us a line!

Newsletter Sign Up
Subscribe to @Source mailing list

Market Information
Product Information
QA Education

Previous blogs

Categories
Educational

4 Methods To Fish A Demersal, The Indonesia Deepwater Groundfish.

GET THE BEST FOOD STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Passion Foods

In this article we would like to introduce the 4 fishing methods for the Indonesian groundfish. There are an an estimated significant, with an estimated 9.924 vessels operating throughout the 11 WWPP zones for those fishes. So let us first introduce a bit more the Indonesian ground fish also called Demersal. With 90 different types of roundfish, flatfish, rockfish, and skates off the West Coast, what actually are ground fishes? 

What are ground fishes (Demersal)?​

Ground fishes carry a uniquely different characteristic, namely that they occur at the bottom of the sea. Also referred to as Demersal fish, they live at the basis of the sea oceans and adapt differently to the ocean life than the pelagic fish. Demersal fish fall within two different branches, namely fish that occurs directly on the seafloor or otherwise live just above the ocean bottom.

Scientists refer to them as benthic or benthopelagic fish. The Indonesian ground fishes include cod, flounder, haddock, and pollack. The sustainable use of groundfishing remains key to prevent these species from becoming extinct.  

SPECIES INCLUDE
Arrowtooth Flounder, Canary Rockfish, Dover Sole, Lingcod, Pacific Cod, Pacific Ocean Perch, Pacific Spiny Dogfish, Pacific Whiting, Petrale Sole, Sablefish, Shortspine Thornyhead, Widow Rockfish, Yelloweye Rockfish

4 Methods To Fish A Demersal.​

1. Dropline​

The dropline fishing approach became popular over the world and especially in Indonesia. Droplines utilize one primary line with an added anchor at the end and uses afloat on the other side. The independent hooks connect to a maximum 50 cm cord and attach to a primary line.

The number of hooks varies between a minimum of 20 to over 100 to make it work. Fishermen leave the droplines in the water for over 6 hours and then hauled by the use of hydraulic winches. These winches fishermen install on the boat for straightforward operation during the hauling process.

2. Longline​

Using groundfish longline equipment involves the use of a rope primary line with added bait hooks. Fishermen space the hooks between two to five meters and use added cord snoods. They attach the primary lines to downlines with a significantly sized buoy. The buoy lies on the surface to allow for the easy identification of the fishing gear locations.

Hauling happens by the use of the hydraulic machines fixed on the boat deck. The process aims to haul the fishing gear by collecting the downline. Using longline fishing seems to provide a conservation approach and presents minimal damages to the environment.

3. Trap​

Trap fishing entails the use of traps to catch fish at the sea bottom. The fishermen place the traps with added bait at the seafloor. The moment the fish starts to eat the bait, the fishermen hauls the trap. It allows them with time to decide on the fish they want.

Using traps allows for a lesser degree of damages to sea life than other more confined fishing methods. The fish swim to the bait and do not necessarily become hurt in the process. The traps attract predator species in the process and fishermen stay alert if it happens.  

4. Gillnet

Gillnet fishing offers a popular fishing method across the world by fishermen and scientists. These nets take on the form of a panel net, lowered in the water using floats at the top. Weights occur at the bottom of the nets and capture fish who passes through it. The vertical panels hang from the mainline and spaced with the floaters.

The mesh sizes play a key role to catch the fish species the fishermen want. The smaller fish tend to swim through the larger holes in the net without becoming hurt. The diversity of conservationists raised their concerns about the method.

Share this article
Recommended

Passion Food

Saute'n Serve

Amino Acid Shrimps

LP Foods

PASSION FOOD
Take them home and enjoy the moment 

Read More >

PRODUCT OF THE MONTH
Take them home and enjoy the moment 

Read More >

PASSION FOOD
Take them home and enjoy the moment 

Read More >