Canned and frozen seafood can be used in a variety of healthy, delicious ways. It can be used as both a main dish and as a special addition to already existing menu options. Purchasing canned seafood and frozen seafood allows you to maintain a longer shelf-life on seafood and produces less waste.

A few creative ideas can help jazz up your kitchen as well as help you stay financially responsible. If your kitchen doesn't go through a high volume of seafood at a time, but still needs access to it at a moment's notice, canned and frozen seafood is your ticket. Consider the following when making the most of canned and frozen seafood:

1. Using canned and frozen seafood in soups and salads will make them complete meals.

2. Using canned and frozen seafood can eliminate cooking time and safety concerns.

3. Using canned and frozen seafood will allow you to plan ahead.

Action Steps
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Use canned and frozen seafood in soups and salads to make nutritionally balanced meals

Adding canned seafood or frozen shellfish to soups and salads can add nutritional value and make them in to even heartier dishes. Try adding frozen shrimp to vegetable soups or canned crab to a dinner salad. You can market these additions as complete entrées rather then just as starters to the meal and, of course, you could charge more per dish.

I recommend: Dave's Gourmet Albacore gives some information into the process of canning fresh fish. CalorieKing also provides some valuable nutritional information for you and your customers.

Use canned and frozen seafood to cut down on preparation time and ensure safety

Using canned and frozen seafood will allow you to spend less time preparing and ensuring that the seafood is cooked properly. Spending less time on the prep will leave more time for presentation or for turning around more plates per hour. Purchasing frozen seafood wholesale will also help you to spend less time on ordering canned and frozen seafood.

I recommend: The Delaware Sea Program at the University of Delaware offers some valuable tips on purchasing, storing and thawing frozen fish products. Two Sisters Alaska Seafood is one of the many frozen seafood distributors that offer wholesale ordering options.

Purchase canned and frozen seafood to extend the shelf-life of seafood products

Fresh fish and other seafood products have a fairly short shelf-life until they are not as fresh, and then eventually unusable. Using seafood from canned seafood companies will help to eliminate waste and allow you to only use a small amount of seafood at a time. Buy frozen seafood and canned seafood to prevent having to use it within a small window of time. That way, whatever you haven't used at the end of the week or month doesn't have to be pitched.

I recommend: Query Cat features some commonly asked questions about the long shelf-life of canned seafood. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has some information that may help you in making your next frozen seafood purchase.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Buy canned and frozen seafood in different pre-packaged quantities. For example, if one dish requires 6 ounces of tuna and another requires 12 ounces, try purchasing both 6 and 12 ounce containers to use exactly what you need at a time.

Canned and frozen seafood can be used to cut the time it takes to make complex dishes, soups, stews and other dishes. By using high-quality prepared canned seafood and frozen seafood, you can offer the very best to your patrons at a better price and with faster service.

Many restaurants and food service businesses use frozen and canned seafood of some kind in their recipes. Frozen fish products come in all varieties from reputable frozen seafood manufacturers, from canned tuna, crab, shrimp and anchovies to frozen scallops, lobster and salmon. Top canned seafood labels can fill your shelves to make it easier to make quick dishes or to add to more complex ones. When considering what canned and frozen seafoods to use in your business, you should:

1. Decide on the canned and frozen seafood products you would most like to have on hand as ingredients to enhance dishes you make most or that you wouldn't use often enough to keep the ingredients fresh on hand.

2. Find reputable canned and frozen seafood processors and suppliers to keep you stocked while providing top customer service.

3. Buy from specialty frozen and canned seafood manufacturers and suppliers.

Action Steps
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Decide on the canned and frozen seafood products you will stock in your kitchen

There are many types of canned seafood products and frozen seafood products from which to choose in stocking your commercial kitchen. Consider the recipes you use most, the type of menu you are offering and the changes you can make in the way you buy and use ingredients. Contact other restaurants in your area that have similar menus to ask about the quantities they order and what suppliers they recommend.

I recommend: SYSCO is one of the largest and most well-known marketers and distributors of both canned and frozen foods for restaurants and other food service businesses. They also distribute their own label canned and frozen seafood, or those by top canned food brands. Foodservice.com offers canned and frozen seafood reports detailing what canned and frozen foods are selling best and which are not selling as quickly. You can also outline different areas of the country and the different canned and frozen foods sold across the US.

Find specialty canned and frozen seafood companies for ethnic or other special niche businesses

If you've decided to open an ethnic restaurant or a casual seafood shack -- a place that has a very specialized and limited menu -- you can use specialized canned seafood companies or frozen seafood to enhance your dishes. In food businesses such as these, you will be making a lot of the same things -- fish tacos in a Mexican eatery or fish and chips in a seafood shack. Buy your frozen seafood wholesale to save money.

I recommend: Trident Seafoods, located in Seattle, Washington, offers 280 food service seafood products. They also offer Alaska seafood products and a selection of canned seafood products available through their online store or with your standard order. Whitney & Sons Seafoods, located in Central Florida, supplies fresh and frozen seafood including clams, crab, shrimp and in all prep methods including chopped, sliced, cleaned and ready to cook.

Find canned and frozen seafood suppliers

Consider the specialty seafoods you may want to offer and order them from a frozen seafood company and give your customers the very best.

I recommend: Wild Planet prides themselves on offering top of the line canned seafood products, including those with low mercury and fancy fillet and smoked varieties. Gourmet Chef Packers has high quality frozen lobster and crab offered in a variety of ways, including cocktail claws, whole, split and many others.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Watch your canned and frozen seafood inventory closely the first couple of weeks. By immediately noticing trends and adjusting orders accordingly, you can save money and reduce spoilage.
• •  Always remember the 'last in, last out' theory of food inventory management. Buy an industrial sized can organizer (like the kind canned food companies use to stock soup on store shelves) that allows canned goods to roll out toward the front from the back where you will load them. Also put newly received frozen food behind older food to encourage you and your staff to always be pulling the oldest food out for use.

A canned and frozen seafood education and training program is essential for anyone who desires to hold a sales or production position in this industry. Start learning about the canned and frozen fish companies by studying the government regulations that govern the purchasing, sales, handling and storage of these items. Follow that by reading trade journals that contain timely reports on these companies so you'll be able to identify the key players and latest issues.

Attending seminars and tradeshows and joining professional organizations can help you build relationships among industry leaders. Popular solutions for your canned and frozen seafood education and training program include the following:

1. Find training programs regarding frozen and canned seafood in the United States.

2. Follow the latest safety information to properly handle your seafood.

3. Take seminars, attend tradeshows and join professional organizations where you'll come into contact with professionals representing leading frozen and canned seafood companies.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find a variety of training opportunities regarding canned and frozen seafood

Frozen seafood distributors aren't always the best source of information you need to know about the seafood you order. Look to independent organizations to obtain the training that your business needs.

I recommend: Learn the terminology surrounding canned and frozen seafood products through Billingsgate Seafood Training School. The FDA Office of Regulatory Affairs offers a variety of seafood training videos, including “Seafood Quality” and “Seafood Toxins.”

Attend frozen seafood safety training

Safe handling of canned seafood and frozen seafood is essential in your business. Learning the proper ways to store and handle these items will help save you and your business a lot of headache.

I recommend: The International HACCP Alliance specializes in food safety, and they offer a variety of courses to teach you how to safely handle seafood and other meats. The University of California Sea Grant Extension Program also offers food safety training you can use in your business.

Network with professionals in the frozen seafood wholesale business

Build relationships with professionals in the frozen fish products industry so you can learn firsthand about the challenges they face on a daily basis.

I recommend: Register for the International Boston Seafood Show at Boston Seafood so you can learn about seafood assortment, the latest products and strategies for meeting with suppliers. Join the Seafood Choices Alliance at the Sea Web.org website. This professional group provides guidance to the seafood industry and encourages business to business networking.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Many frozen seafood distributors require their buyers and marketing personnel to complete formal classes in food safety.