Publisher/Editor
Randy Hartnell
Producer
Craig Weatherby
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VitalChoices
NEW Herbs & Spices
Certified Organic and Kosher
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Customers had often asked us to expand our seasoning offerings beyond our Organic Salmon Marinade blend. We thought they had a good idea, but it took time to secure superior sources.
Each fresh, flavorful seasoning in our new line of 10 Organic Herbs & Spices is certified Organic and Kosher (OU), and is naturally rich in beneficial “phytoceutical” compounds.
And if, like many, your pantry harbors some old, faded seasonings, our Herbs and Spices Medley package—which includes our Organic Salmon Marinade blend—will upgrade your seasonings scene in one fell swoop!
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Vital Choices!
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Like Your Lox Luscious?
Ours Makes Mouths Water
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Vital Choice smoked salmon is far superior to the preservative-laden farmed product found in most grocery stores.
After curing in natural alder wood smoke, our Smoked Sockeye Portions and silky, Cold-Smoked Sliced Nova Lox are immediately vacuum-packed and flash-frozen. Thawed and served, they taste as though they came fresh out of the smoker.
"I am in love with the hot-smoked salmon. It is fabulous flaked and scrambled with eggs and onions. They give the eggs a lovely zing." — Dana Jacobi, author of 12 Best Foods Cookbook.
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The World's Finest Fish Oil
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We put only whole, unrefined oil from wild Alaskan sockeye salmon in our premium salmon oil supplements. Wild Alaskan sockeye salmon is one of the cleanest fish in the sea: a trait reflected in the purity of our unrefined sockeye oil, which is now certified by NSF: one of the best-respected independent labs in the U.S.
Because our naturally pure salmon oil does not need to be distilled, it provides the essential omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA), plus 30 other natural fatty acids and astaxanthin: the potent antioxidant that gives sockeye its distinctive deep-red color.
Last, but not least, ours comes in pure fish-gelatin capsules and it is the only salmon oil supplement certified as sustainably sourced by the Marine Stewardship Council (www.msc.org).
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Why Our Albacore Tuna's A Cut Above
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Our young, low-weight Pacific Albacore Tuna—fresh or canned—is simply superior!
Smaller means safer: Vital Choice troll-caught tuna weigh just 12 lbs. or less, so they contain less mercury, and more omega-3s, than the larger troll-caught tuna touted by other “minimal mercury” vendors.
No loitering allowed: Our tuna are hauled in fast, bled, and flash-frozen within about two hours. (Standard long-line-caught albacore spend 12 hours in the water.)
Better, fresher flavor, even in the can: Unlike standard canned albacore—which is cooked twice at great cost to flavor and omega-3 content—Vital Choice tuna is cooked only once (in the can) to preserve its healthful oils and fresh flavor.
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The Vital Choice Advantage
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Click here to learn about the Vital Choice Advantage ... the many reasons why William Sears, M.D. — renowned as "America's Baby Doctor"— calls Vital Choice his favorite salmon source.
Vital Choice was founded by two longtime Alaska fishermen—Randy Hartnell and Dave Hamburg—who know where to get the highest quality fish. And they test it periodically to ensure your safety.
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Berries to Live For!
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Vital Choice fresh-frozen organic blueberries, strawberries and red raspberries are rich in anti-aging antioxidants, and draw customer comments like this:
“OH MY GOODNESS! I cannot believe the flavor ... the taste reminds me of something from my childhood. Thanks for a great product!
Berries are incredibly healthful foods, and it's smart to seek out organic berries, grown without synthetic pesticides.
Our organic berries come in convenient one pound bags, each yielding about 3-1/2 cups. They freeze well, so you can keep plenty on hand!
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Savor the "Chocolate of the Sea"
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Sablefish is rarely seen in standard fish markets, but is highly prized in Japan, which corners almost the entire North American catch.
This buttery, flaky, white fish boasts its own rich texture and mind-blowing flavor—and even more omega-3s than wild salmon!
We also offer irresistible smoked sablefish. Boasting a rich golden color, these scrumptious, oven-ready steaks are infused with delicate alder wood smoke flavor—and cook fully from frozen in mere minutes!
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Kosher Fish, Berries, Spices, Chocolate, and More
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Did you know that most of our key offerings are certified Kosher? The roster of Kosher-certified Vital Choice foods includes most of our premium canned seafood * (Tuna, Sardines, Wild Red Sockeye, and Foil-Pouch Sockeye) most of our fresh-frozen wild Alaskan Salmon* (Sockeye, Silver, King), all of our Organic Herbs & Spices and Organic Chocolates*, and all of our Organic Berries.
*EarthKosher, which certifies the asterisked products, strives to make more healthy foods available to Kosher consumers by providing certification to companies that meet its halakhic, health, environmental, and social standards. EarthKosher's Rabbinic Counsultant, Rabbi Zushe Yosef Blech, is considered one of the world’s leading experts. For more information on EarthKosher, click here.
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Our brand new holiday catalog, which features several exciting new offerings. To receive yours, click here.
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Vital Choice tuna: Safer and tastier
Line fishing lands awesome Albacore
by Randy Hartnell
If you think you know tuna, think again. We offer our customers only the best, purest, sashimi-grade albacore tuna available, for sale as fresh-frozen portions, and canned.
All of our premium albacore tuna are individually troll-caught, and come from second-generation tuna fisherman Paul Hill, a neighbor here in Bellingham, Washington. Paul brings exceptional skill, dedication and experience to the task of bringing you the finest, purest tuna in the world. I’ll relate some of a recent interview with Paul after an overview of the world of tuna.
White versus light: telling tuna apart
Skipjack, bluefin and yellowfin (ahi) tuna are canned and sold as "light" tuna (off-white or pinkish in color). Albacore (longfin) is better-tasting and free of the fishy flavor associated with light tuna; it is the only tuna that is and can be labeled "white."
But even albacore varies in quality, depending on how and where it is caught, and how it is processed and packed.
Long-line versus troll-caught
Large commercial fishing boats typically catch their tuna using "long lines" that lay deep in the water and hold hundreds—even thousands—of hooks. These long lines often extend 10 miles from the boat, and are pulled only when full—typically a full 12 hours after being put in the water. As a consequence, the fish is not always fresh by the time it is landed.
Because the lines lay so deep, they catch older, larger (25-80 pound) albacore, which contain fewer omega-3s and more mercury. As tuna become older and larger, they accumulate more and more mercury from their diet of smaller fish. Most of the mercury in the ocean comes from coal-burning power plants and other industrial polluters. It is consumed by ocean microorganisms, and then works it way up the food chain to tuna and other predatory fish.
In contrast, tuna trollers like Paul Hill work almost like recreational fishermen, using shallow-depth, single-hook lines to catch one small tuna at a time. As soon as a fish is hooked by one of these smaller, often family-owned tuna boats, it is brought on board, bled, and flash-frozen within about two hours. To insure that Vital Choice tuna are the "tip of the pinnacle" as far as purity, we select only the smallest of Paul's catch—fish weighing no more than 12 lbs.
Processing matters
Large commercial canneries cook their tuna twice. First, they bake the fish whole on a rack, which results in a loss of beneficial omega-3 oils. Then it is de-boned and packed in cans along with flavorings and chemical additives (e.g., pyrophosphate or hydrolyzed casein). The cans are sealed, and the fish is cooked again. This process allows the companies to produce more product more quickly.
In contrast, our troll-caught tuna is packed into the can raw and cooked only once to preserve all its natural oils and flavor. This difference in processing methods means that canned troll-caught albacore contains several times more omega-3s per serving, compared with the major national brands.
Paul Hill: man on a marine mission
Lifelong fisherman Paul Hill is our exclusive albacore supplier. As he describes the process, "We land fish one at a time—as soon as they take the hook—and then freeze them right away. Our gear is specially designed for trolling, so we get virtually no bycatch of other species and present no threat to the albacore population." (The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch concurs that the troll albacore fishery is eminently sustainable, with no risk to other species.)
From May through October, Paul sails from Puget Sound in his 80-foot troller, for long journeys to the north Pacific with his crew of three. The team takes either "short" 40-day trips to deep, cold waters, or longer 60-70 day trips to the vicinity of remote Midway Island, the famed World War II sea battle site that lies equidistant from Hawaii and the Aleutian islands, and thousands of miles from civilization. All of the albacore we get from Paul comes from his trips to these remote Pacific waters, where premium-quality albacore dwell. Even during the relatively calm summer-fall months, these trips are serious expeditions, beyond the reach of amateurs or the faint-hearted.
Once brought on board, whole tuna are placed in the flash-freezer within twenty minutes, and frozen solid within two hours. As Paul says, after a lifetime of eating experience, "Our flash-frozen tuna tastes fresher than any fresh tuna you—or I—can buy. The fish remains completely frozen between the time it is captured to the time it is canned or until Vital Choice customers take it out of their freezers. It’s almost as if you caught the fish yourself and cooked it on the spot. And, thanks to their higher oil content, these small albacore are moister and more flavorful than the large tuna caught by long-line boats."
Vital Choice is proud to support independent fisherman like Paul Hill, who are committed to providing premium quality, sustainably harvested seafood—and we're thrilled to be able to offer you premium tuna products that are unavailable anywhere else.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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