SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It seems as if there’s a holiday dedicated to every variety of seafood. Tuna has one. Shrimp, lobster and crab have their own days, too. But despite being America’s second-most-consumed seafood, salmon has gone unheralded in the world of food holidays.
Until now. Come Oct. 8, the beloved pink fish will have an annual day of celebration of its very own as part of National Seafood Month.
“National Salmon Day” has been christened an official holiday dedicated to celebrating the health, taste, convenience and diverse recipe benefits of the world’s most popular pink fish. Starting this year, the day will be marked annually on Oct. 8 in honor of both wild and packaged salmon.
Chicken of the Sea, a leading provider of healthy, sustainable seafood and an industry pioneer in packaged salmon, proposed the holiday as a public service to remind Americans of the significant health and wellness advantages of the fish.
“Now, more than ever, Americans need a high-protein, high-omega-3 food that offers such universal taste and recipe-development appeal, the public doesn’t recognize it as a healthy option,” explained Maureen McDonnell, Chicken of the Sea’s Director of Brand Marketing and Category Management. “National Salmon Day was created by Chicken of the Sea as an annual reminder of the essential nutritional benefits that packaged and wild salmon brings to the table.”
“Our ultimate goal is to celebrate National Salmon Day in 2015 and in future years in such a way that it increases consumption of the fish leading to a long-term increase in America’s heart and nutritional health.”
On Oct. 8, McDonnell and other Chicken of the Sea representatives will gather at the company’s San Diego headquarters to accept a City of San Diego proclamation designating the day as “National Salmon Day.” A company-wide party, themed to the company’s “Pink Up Your Lunch” healthy-eating initiative, will follow.
The City of Chicago and Cook County, Ill., are also proclaiming Oct. 8 as “National Salmon Day” to commemorate the strong legacy of salmon fishing in Lake Michigan. Following inaugural local celebrations in San Diego and Chicago, Chicken of the Sea representatives will work with Chase’s Calendar of Events, the definitive, authoritative reference for annual dates and observances, to formalize its national-holiday designation.
To encourage public participation, Chicken of the Sea is conducting a “30 Days of Salmon Sweepstakes” asking people to #PinkUpYourLunch on their social media platforms to win prizes and offering a coupon good for a free Chicken of the Sea Flavored Salmon Pouch, valued at $2.00 and downloadable on Oct. 8 only.
The brand has also partnered with blogger and prominent Twitter party host Mariah Moon, editor of “The Simple Parent” blog, for a one-hour National Salmon Day Twitter Party on October 8 at 4 p.m. PDT (7 p.m. EDT). Guests who participate in the Twitter party by tagging @TheSimpleParent, @COSMermaid and #NationalSalmonDay will have a chance to win salmon and other prizes from Chicken of the Sea.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating fatty fish, such as salmon, twice a week due to the importance of Omega-3 fatty acids. The AHA guidelines parallel expected updated recommendations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calling for a dramatic increase in consumption of salmon and other seafood by pregnant and nursing women to aide in prenatal brain development.
To encourage wider public adoption of salmon as a healthy “new” protein source, Chicken of the Sea became the first to introduce skinless and boneless salmon in 1984, and has been a strong supporter of the nutrition, convenience, versatility and recipe-development benefits of pouched salmon ever since. Last year, the company notched another first when it introduced the industry’s first line of flavored salmon pouches as a high-protein alternative to traditional salads, sandwiches and rice bowls.
The company provides a multitude of salmon recipes, serving and meal-planning suggestions on its website, www.chickenofthesea.com, and through its Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram pages.
About Chicken of the Sea
Founded in 1914, Chicken of the Sea (COS) is a leading provider of healthy, sustainable and delicious seafood, offering not only a robust product line but the recipes and meal-planning insights needed to inspire seafood lovers to greater culinary creativity and inspiration. The company provides tuna, salmon, clams, crab, oysters, shrimp, mackerel, kipper snacks and sardines in cans, cups and pouches as well as innovative new products consistent with seafood’s growing status as a healthy “new” protein choice in America.
Headquartered in San Diego, COS sustainably sources its seafood products from around the world, and packages them at a state-of-the-art processing facility in Lyons, Ga., as well as at third-party facilities. The company is led by a team of industry veterans with more than 300 years of collective experience in the packaged seafood industry.
For information on Chicken of the Sea, including recipes, serving suggestions and nutritional and meal-planning insights as well as information on the latest new Chicken of the Sea products, go to www.chickenofthesea.com.
