PORTLAND, Maine – March 8, 2020 – Bristol Seafood announced today it completed a significant investment in its groundfish business that will bring a new level of quality, consistency, and precision to its customers. The new equipment and technologies were developed and installed by Marel, an Icelandic company transforming the way food is processed.
In addition to increasing the company’s processing capacity, this investment gives Bristol new capabilities such as precision grading of portions and fillets, custom processing, and custom batching. Along with announcing this investment, Bristol is launching a retail line of USA-processed MSC-certified cod and haddock portions.
These products, like the company’s My Fish Dish line, are produced in its Portland, Maine facility. “Bristol Seafood has its heritage in groundfish processing, and today is the largest importer-processor of line-caught Norwegian haddock in America” noted Peter Handy, President & CEO, “This investment and partnership with Marel gives us new capabilities that will bring our customers unmatched quality, consistency, precision, and customization. Today this is particularly relevant given the growing interest in sourcing US-produced haddock and cod.”
To contextualize, last year the US imported 170 million pounds – equivalent to 680 million servings – of haddock and cod caught in the North Atlantic or Alaska, shipped to China for processing, and subsequently shipped to the US for consumption.
“Our aim is always to help our customers improve their efficiencies and yields in a market which is now changing at a faster pace than ever.” noted Magnus Olason, Sales Business Manager at Marel, “It fills us with pride when companies like Bristol Seafood choose to work together with us to continuously improve the quality of their product and product offerings. We look forward to a long relationship between Marel and Bristol Seafood – a relationship where we can grow together”
For more information, contact Iréne Moon, Bristol’s Vice President – Marketing, at irenem@bristolseafood.com or 207-318-3183.
About Bristol Seafood
Bristol Seafood is on a mission to make seafood America’s favorite protein. Since its founding in 1992 on the waterfront in Portland, Maine, the company has built a nationwide following for its steadfast adherence to its Uncompromising Maine Standards.
Bristol is committed to sustainable business practices and is the first seafood company to earn a Fair Trade certification for seafood harvested in US waters. Its state-of-the-art facility is certified by GFSI for food safety, MSC for sustainability, and Fair Trade for social welfare. Bristol specializes in dry scallops, wild caught Norwegian haddock and cod, and ready to cook seafood for the retail market under the My Fish Dish brand. See more at www.bristolseafood.com, or contact Iréne Moon VP – Marketing irenem@bristolseafood.com and 207-200-2561.