Europeans consumer more than twice as much fish and seafood as Americans

Chicago, IL, September 28, 2004 — According to Mintel’s recent research, Americans are drastically behind in the consumption of fish and seafood in comparison to other parts of the world. Americans each eat an average of 15.6 pounds of fish and seafood per year, compared to 82.9 pounds of chicken and 64.9 pounds of beef. In Europe and Japan, seafood consumption is substantially higher at 37.4 pounds per capita in Europe and an impressive 88 pounds per capita in Japan.Americans show potential with consumption of fish and seafood, however. When Mintel asked which form of meat they were most tired of eating, only 7% reported fish compared to 40% for poultry and 23% for red meat. The Atkins high-protein/low-carb diet has undeniably had an impact on the consumption of seafood as 20% of Americans say they have increased the amount of meat and fish they eat because of the low-carb diet trend.