Mr. Baker

Food & Beverage

Asking Your Seafood Provider the Right Questions to Assure a Safe and Customer-friendly Program

By Dennis M. Baker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avendra, LLC

As every chef knows, providing fresh, wholesome, attractive seafood is the desire of every hotel's food and beverage operation. However, providing customers the seafood they want in an increasingly environmentally-conscious world can be a difficult task. Numerous issues confront us in today's seafood marketplace. In fact, more often than operators like to admit, the products they think they are buying are not what they are getting. Besides mislabeled products, another major concern is agreement on a clear, and universally accepted standard for "organic" seafood. But, with proper oversight and a desire to be proactive, you can create a program that is both in tune with the wishes of today's hotel guest and creates value for your company.

In developing our seafood program we tapped into our experience in this area, utilized information from trusted industry sources, gathered information from a wide range of customers as well as the supplier community and consolidated everything to develop a list of points to consider. These points have been critical in evaluating potential seafood providers to ensure that they would be capable of providing the necessary expertise, best products, service, business terms and overall value for our customers and their guests. Based on our experiences we surfaced some issues, listed below, that you might want to consider as you think about your program.

Monitoring Local Seafood Suppliers
Does your company have specific safety guidelines documented and in place for the local seafood supplier and is the supplier adhering to your guidelines?

Supplier Inspections and Visits to Seafood Plants, Aquaculture Farms and Fishing Facilities
A vigorous supplier food safety inspection program can give you the confidence that all your suppliers are properly audited and that they are proactively checking for proper seafood handling. You might ask if your vendor visits aquaculture farms and hatcheries on a regular basis to see if these facilities are meeting industry standards and if they are implementing the latest practices. Another question to ask is how often does your local supplier actually go out on fishing boats to see firsthand what practices are in place?

Inspection of Seafood as It Arrives at the Hotel
Another way to ensure you are getting wholesome products delivered in the right condition from suppliers is to have an independent quality assurance inspector go through your property's morning deliveries - checking your seafood delivery against what you ordered as well as for possible food safety concerns. For example, are you evaluating supplier's deliveries on specified standards which are routinely inspected and verified (for example, shrimp promised vs. shrimp provided)? Further, if food safety violations or mislabeled product are identified in your morning's delivery what happens? Are there procedures in place to go back to the source to correct the problem on your behalf?

Truth in Labeling
Currently, the retail-side of the seafood business is utilizing "Country of Origin Labeling," known as COOL. Some proactive seafood companies are adopting this practice on behalf of their hospitality customers. By utilizing COOL, food and beverage managers and wait staff know what seafood products they are using and can clearly articulate to their customers details about the products. For example, there are certain species that customers believe to be on the seafood "avoid" list that are perfectly acceptable, even by the most stringent international watchdog groups, if they are properly identified by an acceptable point of origin. You might inquire if your suppliers are adhering to such standards.

Testing of Product
Beyond routine food safety inspections, how carefully do your suppliers test product? What standards are being evaluated: freshness, safety, taste, nutritive value and appearance? Many organizations simply test for a flavor profile, but it is a good idea to randomly send samples to labs for evaluation of chemicals, water content and condition.

Working with Chefs
Helping chefs understand the choices they can make is critical. Do your current suppliers make themselves available to personally work with chefs to help them understand the complexities of picking the right seafood? Do suppliers explain various options and alternatives? For example, do they offer species that are farm-raised and possibly can be substituted for popular wild varieties? What about seasonal advice on good buys in seafood?

Regular Communication and Recall Assistance
What regular communication tools do suppliers offer to your food and beverage and culinary staff? And, do they communicate in a timely manner when there is an issue in the news, or a product recall? At Avendra, our seafood experts send a monthly Coach's Column to discuss issues of the day and offer expert advice to chefs.

Research and Keeping on Top of Trends
Does your supplier have in-house experts that are up-to-date and work with industry and consumer groups (see sidebar on seafood organizations) on safe seafood practices? For example, there is ongoing debate on aquaculture-farmed fish versus wild-caught. Advocates of farmed fish point to its potential health benefits, ability to reduce supply fluctuations, and improved quality control. On the other hand, advocates of wild-caught counter that wild fish may be less likely to harbor contaminants, farms may be destroying the natural coastline habitat, antibiotics may be harmful, and the pollution generated from concentrated waste from farms can damage the ecosystem. These are complicated and controversial issues. It is in your interest that your vendor is well-informed on these matters and has in-house experts who are regularly in communication with industry groups who promote best practices.

Monitoring the Progress of Government Initiatives and Proposals for U.S. Seafood Standards

To put the importance of monitoring current initiatives into perspective, in the United States there a NO standards or guidelines for "organic" seafood. For the past four years, there have been ongoing talks on such standards, but as of now there are no guidelines. Ultimately the USDA has control over the word "organic," but several bodies issue guidelines on sustainable/depleted fisheries. Currently the Department of Fisheries, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Fisheries Institute are among the groups working toward guidelines. Check if your supplier has staff monitoring these issues.

Cost of a Safe and Customer-Friendly Seafood Program
Being a good corporate citizen and instituting good practices does not have to dramatically impact costs. To assure a level of socially responsible practices that are right for both the preservation of seafood species and meet customer's concern for "doing the right thing," you do need to set-up a program that strictly monitors and inspects the seafood you are getting. But these controls do not have to break the bank. What you want is to provide information and products to customers that your seafood is inspected and comes from reliable, identified sources. If your supplier has regular access to and regularly purchases viable substitutions and properly farm-raised species you have a much better chance of controlling costs. Further, by offering properly labeled, acceptable seafood alternatives your customers can evaluate for themselves the choices they are making.

In Conclusion
While there are many things to consider in building a respected seafood program - quality, food safety, value and country of origin - perhaps the best approach is that you find suppliers that continuously update themselves and educate you. Through education, you and your staff need to have the knowledge and information to suggest possible options to meet your customers' demands. Most importantly as you evaluate your current program for procuring your seafood, you should ask: How do I procure quality seafood and develop systems at a reasonable cost that I can be assured will satisfy my guests and keep them safe?

Sorting Through Key Seafood Organizations:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is the federal agency, a division of the Department of Commerce, responsible for the stewardship of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for the management, conservation and protection of living marine resources within the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone (water three to 200 mile offshore). Using the tools provided by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service assesses and predicts the status of fish stocks, ensures compliance with fisheries regulations and works to reduce wasteful fishing practices. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service recovers protected marine species (i.e. whales, turtles) without unnecessarily impeding economic and recreational opportunities. With the help of the six regional offices and eight councils, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is able to work with communities on fishery management issues. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service works to promote sustainable fisheries and to prevent lost economic potential associated with overfishing, declining species and degraded habitats. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service strives to balance competing public needs. For more information, visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/aboutus.htm

NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Office of Constituent Services
1315 East West Highway, 9th Floor
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Michael.Kelly@noaa.gov

The National Fisheries Institute
The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) is the nation's leading advocacy organization for the seafood industry. Its member companies represent every element of the industry from the fishing vessels at sea to national seafood restaurant chains. This water-to-table diversity allows NFI to speak with authority to decision makers in Washington, D.C., on issues that impact public policy. NFI and its members are committed to sustainable management of oceans and being stewards of the environment by endorsing the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Fisheries. Members recognize the value of ensuring its industry does not adversely affect surrounding ecosystems or damage native species. From responsible aquaculture, to a marketplace supporting free trade, to ensuring consumers have the facts on the health benefits of fish and shellfish, NFI and its members support and promote sound public policy based on hard science. The informed, educated, and involved consumer will sustain the seafood industry and its products well into the future. For more information, visit www.aboutseafood.com
National Fisheries Institute
7918 Jones Branch Drive, Suite 700
McLean, VA 22102

Global Aquaculture Alliance
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) is an international, non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. GAA recognizes aquaculture -- the culture and farming of shrimp, fish, shellfish and other aquatic organisms -- as the only sustainable means of increasing seafood supply to meet the food needs of the world's growing population. GAA therefore promotes Best Aquaculture Practices standards and facility certification for sustainable aquaculture at the core of its Responsible Aquaculture Program and other activities. For more information, visit www.gaalliance.org
Global Aquaculture Alliance
5661 Telegraph Road, Suite 3A
St. Louis, Missouri 63129 USA
314-293-5500

Dennis M. Baker is president and CEO of Avendra, LLC, a business-to-business procurement company serving the hospitality industry. Mr. Baker was the EVP and GM of The Marketplace by Marriott, a division responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to consolidate and streamline procurement. Mr. Baker was responsible for overall operations, including strategic direction and business planning. He began his career at Marriott International in 1987. He joined Marriott Distribution Services in 1991, which also housed Marriott’s centralized food procurement functions. Mr. Baker can be contacted at 301-825-0500 or Dennis.baker@avendra.com Extended Bio...

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