File
The price of grocery items is soaring out of the reach of many consumers.
Shelly-Ann Thompson, Staff Reporter
'Tamarind season' is how one sales representative of a seafood distributor, who requested anonymity, has labelled the past month as sales in high-end fish and shrimps have decreased.
"Easter wasn't the same, people wanted fish but they bought the cheaper type," says the sales representative.
He says, grout fish, which sells for approximately $60 per pound, now sells for more than fish fillet, sliced fish and shrimp, which average in price $120 - $400 per pound.
Reports from supermarkets, says the sales representative, are that chicken-back sales have climbed in recent weeks.
"People still want protein-based foods, but they are buying the cheaper ones," says the seafood sales representative.
Vanessa White, dietetics, nutrition and child care and development director at the University of Technology, explains that canned foods, like mackerel and sardines, are nutritious healthy sources of protein, calcium and essential omega fatty acids.
"Compared to chicken meat, they are also more healthy. For instance, sardines provide more iron than chicken meat," said White.
Salt content
She adds: "Concerns are sometimes raised about the preservatives and salt in tinned foods, as well as contaminants from the sea, for example mercury. But similar concerns exist regarding chicken. For example, the use of hormones to increase meat yield or feeding them with genetically modified grains can have an impact on people's health."
Franny Mahfood, nutritionist at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, however, warns diabetics and those who are hypertensive against the consumption of processed foods, such as canned meals. Mahfood advises that the salt content of many of these tinned foods is unhealthy for persons suffering from metabolic diseases.
"They will say 'I love chicken and fish' but I know they only eat it probably once a week because they cannot afford these meat kinds," says Mahfood.
shelly-ann.thompson@gleanerjm.com
