2008 European Seafood Exposition: here's what's in store at annual event: ESE joins forces with Seafood Processing Europe to offer industry one-stop shopping for products and processing equipment. And once again, innovative processors and marketers will compete head-on for coveted Seafood Prix D'Elite awards.

Lyons Seafoods, Warminster, UK (www.lyons-seafoods.com), is eyeing a possible sixth Prix D'Elite win in six years at the ESE, after scooping awards in 2002, 2004 and 2007, by entering two new added-value lines aimed at restaurant and pub chain end users. The range, on display at Hall 6, Stand 1163, will initially feature two options: Salmon & King Prawn Florentine and King Prawn & Mussel Mariniere a la Creme.

The King Prawn & Mussel Mariniere features a combination of large, peeled farmed warmwater king prawns and Irish rope-grown mussels from Bantry Bay in a classic creamy mariniere sauce. The product comes in an individually vacuum packed pouch ensuring precise portion control and minimal preparation, and is microwaveable in minutes.

The Salmon & King Prawn Florentine offering combines two customer favorites in a healthy meal option that allows menu developers to add their own sauce and vegetable combinations to create signature dishes. The skinless and boneless salmon fillet has a cut pocket that contains three warmwater king prawns accented with a basil pesto and spinach filling. Preparation is simple with each portion supplied in an individually wrapped pouch, which is ready after only 12 minutes of oven preparation.

Fripur S.A., of Montevideo, Uruguay (www.fripur.com.uy), will be exhibiting at Hall 7, Stand 1444, with its six lines of fish and seafood--natural, coated, tempura, sauced fillets, prepared dishes and mariscos (shellfish and molluscs).

The light line is the latest, with less than 100 calories per 100 grams, but that doesn't mean light on flavor. There are Patagonian silver hake fillets with Sicilian sauce (also with yogurt sauce, Rucola sauce and Chardonnay, or combined with red crab and asparagus in a saffron sauce); Kingclip Portuguese style, with potatoes, sweet peppers and black olives and covered with a Portuguese sauce; and Sicilian Sea Fantasy, with hake, clams, shrimp and mussels in tomato sauce.

One of the featured items this year is red crab, caught in waters of the Atlantic, sorted alive, then cooked and frozen. There are also clams, taken alive to Montevideo for processing; IQF scallops; shrimp graded and frozen at sea; and hake--Fripur's main product, for which 18 of its trawlers are dedicated.

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Hake comes in natural, breaded and tempura lines--but even the fish sticks include varieties with added spinach, broccoli or cheese. There are squid rings, clams in their own broth, crab salad and crab sauce.

Prepared items include, besides hake in sundry sauces, sea trout fillets, grilled squid tubes and Saute di Mare, with clams, mussels, shrimp and more in a sauce made with extra virgin olive oil, leeks and aromatic herbs.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which functions under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India, is coming to the European Seafood Exposition with a large contingent of seafood processors and marketers from the subcontinent. They will hold forth at Stand 1606 in Hall 7.

"In the last three years the European Union has emerged as India's major seafood buying country, and presently a total of 196 processing units in India have been approved for seafood processing and exporting to the EU [See special story section beginning with the ""I've earned my stripes! message on page 49.]," pointed out Kuruvilla Thomas, MPEDA's director of marketing.

He went on to say that Indian seafood companies have procured world class processing machinery which enable them to produce ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products to suit the requirements of overseas consumers. A wide spectrum of these products will be on display at India's 224-square-foot pavilion.

Morubel, Oostende, Belgium (www.morubel.be), is coming to Hall 6, Stand 927, with a wide range of seafood tapas, seafoods in sauce, convenience and deluxe items.

The tapas are made from warmwater prawns, squid cubes, mussels or scallops in a spicy oil marinade. For retail, they include Oriental, Provencale and Mediterranean offerings. For foodservice and catering there are Prawn Tapas (Oriental, Provencale, Mediterranean), Squid Tapas (Oriental, Provencale or Mild Chili), Mussel Tapas (Oriental or Provencale) and Oriental Scallop Tapas.

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Prawns in sauce is offered with a choice of Creamy Garlic or Indian Tikka Masala. Other Morubel items range from King Prawns Provencale to Seafood Banquet in cheese and Chardonnay sauce, Scallops in Champagne sauce, Bouille-abaisse (a seafood bisque with a mix of prawns, mussels and pollock), and Prawn casseroles.

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Marine Harvest ASA, Oslo, Norway (www.marineharvest.com), has the luck, or perhaps the pluck of the Irish behind its Donegal unit, which was recently awarded the first eco-certification for farmed salmon anywhere in the world by the Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM, the Irish Sea Fisheries Board).

BIM's Eco-Salmon standard is awarded only to salmon growers and processors who adhere to stringent environmental management practices in all aspects of their business. It guarantees assurance that the fish has been produced with due care for the environment, above and beyond all existing requirements, and is accredited to EN45011, the "gold standard" for product certification.

"While eco-standards exist internationally, the launch of this accreditation scheme is a world first for farmed salmon," said BIM Aquaculture Development Manager Donal Maguire. "Seafood products accredited under this scheme will be of unrivaled quality. Critically, they come from a highly sustainable source and are produced with minimal environmental impact.

Slothouber Seafood BV, Den Haag, Holland (www.slothouber.nl), meanwhile, has secured exclusive agreements with shrimp packers that are certified on sustainability under Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP).

Those allowed to work under the BAP certificate, namely shrimp hatcheries, farms and processing plants are screened on the following criteria:

* Environmental responsibility, with attention to aspects like waste and water management, correct and minimal use of chemicals, conservation of natural habitat of shrimp, and maintenance of biodiversity.

* Food safety: hygiene, temperature control, transport--all according to HACCP guidelines.

* Traceability: tracking and tracing from hatchery to consumer.

* Community relations: acceptable working conditions, safety regulations.

"We are proud to be a frontrunnet in the Netherlands with the BAP certificate," said Ruud van Zuidam, managing director. "Slothouber has always exerted itself on being innovative and offering high quality shrimp. With the BAP certificate our customers are assured of getting sustainable products."

Slothouber is an importing and distribution company, supplying shrimp and shrimp snacks, as well as other products to the foodservice industry and retail trade under the Fisherman's Choice brand as well as various private labels. The certified Fisherman's Choice products will show the BAP logo beginning in July. At the ESE, they can be seen at Hall 6, Stand 853.

Having one of the biggest capacities of filleting flatfish in the Netherlands, Edam-based Platvis Holland (Fax + 31 299-374105) can transform flatfish into frozen sales units of 300 grams within 20 minutes.

As both a private label packer and as producer for A-brands for major European retailers, Platvis Holland supplies product groups available in all varieties of packaging, including:

* Interleaved retail boxes for natural and breaded products

* Glazed products in all kinds of packaging

* Dusted fillets packed in boxes and in bags

* Growing range of products with MSC certificates

Resources include plaice, saithe, dabs, redfish, flounder, pangasius and Nile perch, all on display at Hall 6, Stands 1101-2.

What does Urk, the Netherlands-headquartered Seafood Connection, (www.seafoodconnection.nl)want in the way of raw materials? Mainly to source from Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fisheries or obtain sustainable aquaculture products, the company declares.

Alaska pollock from the Bering Sea will be undergoing its second surveillance audit since MSC certification in May 2007. Alaska kibbeling, sawed strips from Alaska pollock blocks, is therefore targeted to be MSC-certified as well.

At this moment Seafood Connection is preparing its chain of custody for this certification. The US pollock fishery is the world's largest whitefish resource, with average annual landings over the past 20 years of about 1.1 million metric tons. Visit the company at Hall 11, Stand 2121.

P. Baarssen, Urk, the Netherlands (www.baarssen.nl), holding forth at Hall 9, Stand 4149, ranks among the leading suppliers of value-added frozen fish products in Europe. Around 200 different items are produced at two factories, including numerous types of fillets, breaded fish products and various upscale fish specialities.

Over 80% of the company's products are exported to countries in Europe, North America and Japan.

Established in 1973, Baarssen caters to both the foodservice and retail markets. The range of species offered extends from cod, flounder, sole and turbot to whiting and more. The company recently introduced a new line of fish products for the supermarket channel under the brand Ocean Gourmet.

Kohyo Holland BV, Hoofddorp, the Netherlands (Fax: +31 23-5624428, is coming to Hall 11, Stand 2743 with products such as frozen sushi, sushi toppings, seasoned Japanese-style seafoods and seasoned seaweed imported from around the world.