Would you like ants with your fish?

Cold-smoked salmon with black ants, trout bacon, and sturgeon burger are among the more unusual items that have made the finals of the 2025 Seafood Excellence Global Awards.

Forty finalists were selected among the products submitted for this year’s competition, with nine products for the HORECA (hotel, restaurant, catering) sector and 31 products for retail.

The winners will be announced at the Seafood Expo Global / Seafood Processing Global trade show in Barcelona on May 6.

Two grand prizes will be awarded for the Best Retail Product and the Best HORECA Product. Another four special awards will be presented for innovation, convenience, retail packaging, and seafood product line.

A bold twist

Smoked salmon loin with black ants, made by Lithuania’s Viciunai Group, is said to let the consumer “experience a bold twist when the rich, buttery texture of premium cold-smoked salmon meets the tangy, citrusy crunch of black ants, creating a unique and adventurous flavour”.

The product description adds: “This unexpected innovation appeals to those seeking both premium quality and a conversation-worthy culinary experience.”

Trout bacon, one of nine finalists in the Horeca section, is produced by Finnish processor and fish farmer Kalaneuvos Oy.

“These trout fillet slices can be cooked like bacon, either in a pan, oven or air fryer,” says the ‘bacon’ description. “The product becomes very crispy and can be used like regular bacon in pizzas, burgers, pastas, baked potato or bread fillings or as part of breakfast.”

Kalaneuvos Oy and the Hukkanen family who own it also own the Nordic Fish Group and its subsidiary Nordic Trout, which focuses on fish farming, with more than 30 locations in mainland Finland, Åland Islands and Sweden. The fish farming group is specialised in smolt production and trout farming.

A full list of the finalists can be found at the Seafood Excellence Awards Product Showcase, here.