Fish sales have been up recently in part due to the panic surrounding the coronavirus, which has consumers stocking up on proteins at the grocery store. This includes both fresh and frozen products. As consumers, we’ve been trained to value fresh more than frozen, but when it comes to seafood, sometimes frozen can be fresher than fresh.
The frozen seafood section at the Whole Foods at the new 2nd and PCH shopping center in Long Beach. ... [+]
Why? Because it takes time to get fresh fish from boat to market, especially if you aren’t purchasing locally. First, the fish must be caught, then processed, then sold to a distributor, and finally sold to smaller markets. The supply chain is long and the shelf life of the product is short. Sometimes the days-long journey can negatively impact the quality of the seafood.
With fishermen going on short trips, this is less of a problem. They are catching and bringing in fish within the same day and there is a quick turnaround of product to be bought. However, many fishermen stay out fishing for days or weeks and sometimes even months. In these cases, freezing fish can be the best (or only) option to maintain the integrity of the product.
For example, Patagonian Toothfish, more commonly known as Chilean Sea Bass, are caught mainly by longline fishermen in Antarctica. In that remote location, it would be nearly impossible for fishermen to return with fresh product simply because of the length of the journey. Therefore, the product is frozen aboard the vessel and marketed as a frozen product.
Much of the “fresh” fish that we see at our seafood counters has been previously frozen and then refreshed for sale, so you may be eating more frozen seafood than you imagined. When you’re shopping for seafood, check for labels that read “previously frozen” and you’ll notice that many of the items available fall into this category.
Workers of a fish processing factory prepare hake fillet for freezing. (Photo by Oleksandr ... [+]
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially given that freezing technology has improved immensely in recent years. We aren’t talking about your home freezers – these machines blast freeze fish to sub zero temperatures in just minutes while they are at peak freshness, right after being caught.
Additionally, freezing product reduces waste by allowing it to be stored if there is little demand. On the other hand, if there is year-round demand for a seasonal species such as salmon, freezing product during the short fishing season allows for continual access to ingredients that would otherwise be unavailable.
One last perk about frozen seafood – it is less expensive than fresh due to its longer shelf life and stability. However, consumers should be on the lookout for chemical additives, specifically sodium tripolyphosphates that are used to retain moisture. Although they do make the product firmer and shinier, they artificially increase the water weight, which increases the cost at check out.
