Alaska Symphony of Seafood issues call for entries

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) has issued a call for products to compete in the 27th annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood. 

The program is a competition of new value-added products made from Alaska seafood products, and the goal is to “inspire innovative ways to fully utilize and increase the value of Alaska’s seafood,” according to a company statement.

Judges base their decisions based on the product’s packaging, presentation, overall eating experience, price, and potential for success commercially.

The four categories in the competition are: Retail, Foodservice, Beyond the Plate, and Beyond the Egg.

“A significant portion of the value and health benefits in any fishery resource is found in the byproducts and roe,” AFDF executive director Julie Decker said in a press release. “The Symphony is continuing to encourage and promote new product development in these particular categories which has an overall effect of increasing the value of the resource, improving nutritional output, and reducing waste - a win-win-win.”

First-place winners receive free booth space at the 2020 Seafood Expo North America, as well as an entry into the Seafood Excellence Awards, for which airfare will be provided. The winning product will receive a professional photo-shoot and marketing materials branding the product a first-place winner. 

“I encourage all companies to develop a product and compete in the Symphony. It keeps all of us in the industry striving to be better and keeps Alaska seafood positioned as a premium on the world stage,” said Keith Singleton, whose company, Alaskan Leader Seafoods, took home the grand prize last year for its Alaskan cod with lemon herb butter.

The AFDF was founded in 1978 and is dedicated to “identifying common opportunities in the Alaska seafood industry and developing efficient, sustainable outcomes that provide benefits to the economy, environment and communities. 

To enter, companies must submit entries on the AFDF website by 15 October, 2019.