roe

Illegal Caviar Exporter Could Face $500,000 Fine

Filed under: Dining

Anything pricey always attracts its share of fakers and hucksters looking to make a quick buck. Last week, federal prosecutors convicted Max Moghaddam of Bemka House of Caviar and FIne Foods in a scheme that involved mislabeling paddlefish roe and shipping it to Belgium, where it was repackaged as American caviar for shipment to other countries. The protected fish eggs are not supposed to be exported but according to CBS4 News, Moghaddam and his team shipped significant quantities of American paddlefish eggs over two years. A ton of paddlefish caviar sent to Belgium in four shipments was worth $193,025 and approximately half was repackaged and sold for $230,113. The caviar culprit could face prison and fines up to $500,000. The Bemka website is still in operation and sells American Paddlefish caviar for $21 for an ounce.

Source

Tags: caviar, paddlefish, roe

A Caviar Taste Test

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

CNN's FSB magazine compiled a panel of two caviar experts - Ricky Estrellado, executive chef Nobu New York and Jean-Luc Kieffer, chef at NY's Picnic - and one "civilian" - their editorial director, Brian Dumaine - to taste test some farmed caviar to see how they stood up to beluga from the overfished sturgeon of the Caspian and Black Seas. Three of the tested caviars were American and one was French. Eggs from an American river sturgeon found in the Midwest were disliked by everyone and opinions were mixed on white sturgeon roe from California and the baeri Siberian sturgeon from France. They all loved the caviar from the wild American Paddlefish, though. And at only $20 an ounce, it's definitely an indulgence that won't break the bank.

Tags: caviar, food, foods, roe, sturgeon, taste test