How Safe is Your Seafood?

...With the fishing industry in that area being impacted on such a large scale, it is no wonder that patrons in restaurants worldwide are curious as to whether the seafood they are eating is safe, and want to know exactly where it comes from.  

Waiters and waitresses alike, are now more than ever, being asked by customers where their favorite seafood like shrimp and oysters were originally caught, as these types of foods are associated with the Gulf region. After seeing all the graphic news coverage in the last few months, many people are somewhat leery of even eating these items, and some restaurants have had to take certain measures to ensure they don’t loose their clientele, as well as the revenue from the sales.      

Some of these measures included adding new items to their menus to take the place of foods like oysters, shrimp and other fish associated with the Gulf area, with other restaurants deciding just to buy these items elsewhere and advertise to their clients where they were caught. Though many restaurants support the Gulf fishing industry and don’t really want to totally cut them off as a supplier, the underlying fact is the public’s perception, as they are they customers, and it means keeping them happy. With that being said, one particular restaurant in New Orleans started serving alligator, and said that his customers actually liked the change. 

Though many restaurants have reported that their customers are curious about where their seafood is coming from, they say by keeping them well informed of where it was caught, has seemed to reduce their concerns and hasn’t badly impacted their business, rather they are really just looking for assurances that it is safe to eat. 

In reality it is estimated that Gulf seafood only accounts for a little more than 2% of all the seafood consumed by Americans, and many restaurants already, prior to this tragedy, were buying locally anyway, as there are many places all throughout the states to find amazing seafood, and many chefs prefer it, so they themselves have really not been too affected in the way of business. 

Though many restaurants have had no choice but to switch to different suppliers due to the rising cost of Gulf seafood, some have chosen to change their menus to reflect what is available to them. Although is has not truly been decided whether there has been an overall decrease in seafood consumption on a whole in restaurants, there is no doubt that some of the businesses in the Gulf States are feeling the effects more than others, stating they have lost 15% of their profits due to this situation. 

Article source: Contributed by RestaurantNewsResource.com, a global restaurant news distribution service.


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