Christine Blank

Contributing Editor

Christine Blank, a veteran freelance writer and editor, covers all aspects of the seafood industry, from fishing to processing to selling and serving the final product. When she is not writing for SeafoodSource, Christine gets to taste scrumptious seafood dishes at U.S. restaurants for her food and travel blog, Flavorful Excursions (www.flavorfulexcursions.net). Christine loves to eat seafood of any kind, but lobster, crab and crawfish are among her favorites. In addition to SeafoodSource.com and SeaFood Business, Christine’s articles have been published in hundreds of leading magazines and newspapers, such as The New York Times, USA Today and Associated Press.

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Author Archive

Published on
January 8, 2024

After a lucrative holiday season to end 2023 for U.S. retailers, some analysts are forecasting a tougher year ahead for the industry, with seafood sales likely to suffer from decreased demand due to higher prices and increased costs throughout the supply chain.

U.S. retail sales excluding automotive products rose 3.1 percent from 1 November through 24 December, according to preliminary data from Mastercard SpendingPulse. Notably, restaurant

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Published on
January 4, 2024

Conagra Brands, which sports frozen seafood brands Van de Kamp’s and Mrs. Paul’s along with major brands Healthy Choice and Bird’s Eye, lowered its outlook for 2024 after disappointing sales and earnings in its most recent fiscal quarter.

The Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-based supplier reported that its gross profit plunged 8.2 percent to USD 847 million (EUR 774 million) in fiscal Q2 2024, while organic net sales dropped 3.4

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Published on
January 3, 2024

A federal judge has denied Red Lobster’s motion to dismiss a class-action fraud lawsuit alleging that the restaurant chain sold Maine lobster and farmed shrimp that is not as sustainable as the company claims.

U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt denied the motion to dismiss the class action complaint, originally filed by Dezzi Rae Marshall in the U.S. state of California against Orlando, Florida, U.S.A-based Red Lobster. Marshall

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Published on
January 3, 2024

Scott & Jon’s, which offers an extensive line of frozen shrimp bowls in U.S. grocery chains, is adding a salmon bowl line to its offerings.

The first two flavors – Mediterranean herb and honey sesame – will be available in early 2024 at retailers nationwide, including Target, Ahold, Harris Teeter, Giant Eagle, and Southeastern Grocers.

"We're excited to unveil our new salmon bowls to address a growing need in the market,"

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Published on
January 2, 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the purchase of more than USD 9 million (EUR 8.2 million) worth of wild-caught domestic salmon for youth nutrition programs and other domestic food distribution strategies on 29 December 2023.

Specifically, the contracts comprise USD 9.075 million (EUR 8.3 million) of canned pink salmon and salmon fillets.

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Trident Seafoods landed the largest contract,

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Published on
December 22, 2023

Jumping on a social media trend, Saco, Maine, U.S.A.-based Luke’s Lobster is promoting its lobster as a perfect gift for a white elephant holiday gift exchange.

Luke's Lobster recently began selling a Live Lobster White Elephant Kit on its website after a TikTok video featuring a family white elephant swap involving a live lobster went viral. The video has more than 651,000 likes to date and served as inspiration for the White

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Published on
December 22, 2023

The average price of Christmas dinner in the U.S. will be higher this year, but seafood won't be contributing to the bigger bill.

The price of purchasing Christmas dinner at a supermarket will be around 7 percent higher than in 2022, according to Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.A.-based research firm Category Partners, which looked at Nielsen IQ data for the 52 weeks through 2 December.

A basic Christmas dinner purchased from a supermarket for a family

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Published on
December 21, 2023

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is purchasing up to USD 36 million (EUR 33 million) of wild shrimp from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic, U.S. Representative Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) announced in a press release.

The purchase is possible thanks to funds available under the USDA’s Section 32 Funds for Strengthening Markets, Income, and Supply, Graves’ office said.

Graves’ office said the purchase will

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Published on
December 21, 2023

Consultants and grocers are anticipating higher sales of seafood in U.S. retail stores over the holidays, as research points to many Americans wanting to cook at home more during the year-end break.

“We expect seafood sales to continue their positive trends throughout November and December,” Fresh Thyme Meat and Seafood Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, and Procurement Lead Jason Resner told SeafoodSource. “It might not be [the

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Published on
December 20, 2023

San Diego, California, U.S.A.-based Bumble Bee Seafoods is targeting millennials this holiday season by rolling out two new marketing initiatives that primarily focus on Americans’ growing interest in snacking.

Bumble Bee recently teamed up with actress Christy Carlson Romano, who is best known for her roles in such TV shows as “Kim Possible” and “Even Stevens,” both of which came out in the early 2000s. Now,

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