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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Published on
May 23, 2023

New food-labeling draft guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) aiming to further clarify the nutritional value of food products to consumers is coming into effect in 2024.

The draft guidance provides food manufacturers with recommendations on how and when to use dietary guidance statements on food product labels “to ensure the label statements promote good nutrition, provide greater consistency in labeling, and assist

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Published on
May 22, 2023

The U.K.’s foodservice sector, and particularly its fish-and-chips restaurants, are continuing to battle high inflation and soaring energy costs.

Overall restaurant price inflation increased 10.4 percent in March 2023 compared to March 2022, according to the Office of National Statistics, and inflation at fish-and-chips eateries spiked 19 percent.

Overall U.K. foodservice price inflation hit 18.9 percent in March 2023, the first time the

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Published on
May 19, 2023

Recognizing Americans’ growing concern over grocery inflation, Giant Eagle is locking in prices on 800 products including several seafood items while other retailers are pursuing different strategies to ease shoppers’ worries.

Following the lead of U.K. grocers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.-based Giant Eagle rolled out a price lock initiative on a list of 800 “high-quality” items at its 196 grocery

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Published on
May 17, 2023

Fresh and frozen seafood inflation at U.S. retailers declined in April, but sales still continued to drop last month.

Due to inflation and concerns about the federal government raising the borrowing cap, U.S. consumer sentiment plummeted to a six-month low in April, according to a University of Michigan survey. The overall index of consumer sentiment is at 57.7 this month, the lowest reading since last November and down from 63.5 in April,

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Published on
May 12, 2023

Americans plan to shatter spending records on Mother’s Day this year, according to a new survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The NRF and Prosper Insights and Analytics’ annual survey shows Americans plan to spend USD 35.7 billion (EUR 32.7 billion) on Mother’s Day – nearly USD 4 billion (EUR 3.7 billion) more than last year’s record high. The survey also found that consumers plan to spend USD 274 (EUR

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Published on
May 10, 2023

Subway is asking a federal judge to issue sanctions of nearly USD 618,000 (EUR 563,000) against the attorneys in a lawsuit alleging it sold “fake” tuna.

In documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Subway called the lawsuit “unmeritorious” and contended the attorneys for plaintiffs Nilima Amin and Karen Dhanowa knew the claims were false prior to filing suit.

The plaintiffs

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Published on
May 9, 2023

Nordstrom Restaurant Group and Rubio’s Coastal Grill are among the restaurant chains featuring shrimp on their spring menus for National Shrimp Day on 10 May.

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Nordstrom Restaurant Group is featuring a shrimp burger made by Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.-based Del Pacifico Seafoods in all 200 Nordstrom Restaurant Group locations in the U.S. throughout May and June.

“We’re proud to once again

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Published on
May 3, 2023

Princess Cruises is rolling out several new Alaska-sourced seafood dishes for its Alaska sailing routes, starting 29 April, along with an upscale seafood restaurant concept.

Princess Cruises offers cruises from seven to 11 days long that depart from San Francisco, California, U.S.A.; Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.A.

The Catch by Rudi, a joint partnership with Princess Head of

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Published on
May 3, 2023

Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.-based Darden Restaurants and Ruth's Hospitality Group entered into a definitive merger agreement in which Darden will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Ruth's in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately USD 715 million (EUR 647 million).

Ruth’s, based in Winter Park, Florida, operates 154 Ruth's Chris Steak House restaurants globally that serve steaks and upscale seafood dishes such as garlic-crusted

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Published on
May 2, 2023

Overall U.S. retail seafood inflation dropped in the first quarter of 2023, which benefitted all sectors of the industry but frozen sales, according to new data shared at Elanco’s “Seafood in U.S. Retail” webinar on 2 May.

Total food and beverage inflation spiked 11.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared versus the first quarter of 2022, but frozen seafood prices rose only 3.9 percent, fresh seafood prices were up

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