Surimi is a Flavored Fish Product

The December 13 issue of The Wall Street Journal reports that the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new label for Surimi, a fish paste which looks and tastes like crab or other fish products. The new label will include the word "flavored." Up until now, it was required to be labeled as "imitation."

Surimi is a Japanese staple, which was introduced into the United States in the 1970s, made mainly from Alaska pollock or Pacific whiting. It is flavored and colored to make it imitate fish products.

This is not without controversy. Various sides on this issue are consumers, the food processors who hope to increase sales, workers who need employment in these plants, and the fishermen who worry about losing their livelihood to another market.

Surimi is gaining momentum and it is interesting that one of the Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory's research projects is to find new methods to measure surimi.

I have no quarrel with anyone about this, but am just wondering if this isn't a wave of the future. As fish stocks are depleted, maybe someday we'll have to eat lobster flavored chicken or tuna flavored tofu in order to still taste the flavors of fish. Something to think about.