Andrew Strak (abstrak@accesswave.ca)
Tue, 1 Feb 2000 21:14:53 -0400
Dear Juan,
But why to spend millions of dollars to convince people to eat something
that it is abominable to them because of its name in the first place? Would
not be much easier just to change the common or market name to match
consumer preferences? We can call a new model of car and so many other
products by the names of choice. Unfortunatelly, in this area of natural
goods out choices are very limited and very often to the detriment of the
consumer and product itself. I suspect, that the reason the catfish is not
so popular in Canada is due to its very name. Nobody here wants to eat
cat-fish, dog-fish or rat-fish for the obvious reason of very unpleasant
mental associations. Should not suffice to label the product by its
taxonomic name for proper species identification while leaving the market
name selection to the producer? The current common and market names are
sometimes confusing enough while grouping various species in some instances
and singling them out in the others. And besides, what's really unique and
most important for a proper species identification is its taxonomic name
that at present is not mandatory label requirement anyway.
Andrew Strak
----- Original Message -----
From: Juan L. Silva <jls@ra.msstate.edu>
To: <info@thecatfish.com>
Cc: <seafood@ucdavis.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2000 11:30 AM
Subject: Re: Catfish under another name?
> Dear Juergen,
> This problem happened here years ago, and through campaigning and
education
> people learned that farm-raised, grain fed catfish was a product of very
high
> quality and had much different taste and sensory profile than wild-caught
> catfish. Another problem is that federal laws mandate that the food
product be
> identified with its proper name/common name.
> I suggest campaigning/marketing (our Catfish Institute has done some in
> Europe) and educatinfg the consumer (chefs, buyers, consumers) to
distinguish
> the farm-raised catfish from the common catfish. Bring out its advantages:
> sweet, mild flavor that can be marinated/prepared to please any taste,
good
> nutritional quality, and excellent appearance.
>
> Juan L. Silva
> Professor and Researcher and extension Specialist
> Mississippi State University
>
> "Juergen R. Ahlmann" wrote:
>
> > Dear Listers,
> >
> > Catfish is an excellent fish. We all know that but, there is still the =
> > derogatory connotation. Does anybody know of other names for catfish =
> > that sound perhaps a bit more inviting to the majority of the people out
=
> > there? We are particularly interested in finding another name for =
> > catfish for England and Germany. In Germany, the catfish is generally =
> > known as "Wels". As an example: in England, "shark" for fish & chips is
=
> > referred to as "huss" and "rock salmon" has absolutely nothing to do =
> > with salmon. In Germany, "Schillerlocken" have nothing to do with Mr. =
> > Schiller's locks, a verbatim translation. Is it possible to introduce =
> > the catfish under a completely different name? Existing or made up? =20
> >
> > Juergen R. Ahlmann
> >
> > _______________________________________________________
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