WEGMANS BOLSTERS SEAFOOD SELECTIONS

ROBERT VOSBURGH

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets is luring customers to increase their consumption of seafood with a combination of new products and promotions, according to company information.

On the fresh side, the retailer alerted customers through an e-mail announcement that stores are now offering "fresh, sweet n' meaty cooked" Alaskan king crab clusters to hail the arrival of the crab harvest. As part of the promotion, Wegmans also offers, while supplies last, free shellers and bibs with a purchase.

"True king crab lovers know these mighty, meaty crab clusters are great solo or in recipes. The flavorful and tender meat is easy to remove from the larger shells," stated the e-mail. "And because this crabmeat is already cooked, it's recipe-ready... everything from crab and wild mushroom risotto and crabmeat stuffing in baked fish filets, to simple dinner fare like seafood alfredo or crab salad."

The in-store promotion directs interested shoppers to the chain's Web site, which includes a recipe for the risotto entree.

Meanwhile, Wegmans has introduced a private-label line of frozen fish filets. In her regular column to shoppers, Mary Ellen Burris, vice president of consumer affairs, said the individually quick-frozen filets and steaks are trimmed as close as possible to six-ounce portions, with two portions to a package.

The products are being merchandised in the frozen food section, next to the retailer's frozen shrimp choices.

Of the six varieties currently in the line, five are caught wild -- sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna, swordfish, sockeye salmon, halibut and orange roughy. Sea scallops, the sixth item, are farm-raised off the northern coast of Hokkaido Island, Japan. "They are dry scallops [no water and sodium tripolyphosphate added], often shipped by the processor to Japanese sushi bars," Burris writes.

The tuna and swordfish are caught on long lines in the South Pacific and frozen to -30 degrees Fahrenheit within six hours of the haul-in. The salmon and halibut are sourced in waters around Alaska, while the roughy comes from New Zealand and packaged frozen in China.

Burris notes the items are compatible with the retailer's own "Food You Feel Good About" meal-ready products and recipes, and that "most of the facilities" involved in processing the seafood have been inspected by one of the chain's quality-assurance supplier auditors.