Harrods is to become the first UK retailer to stock a super-premium variety of cod from Norway that has been championed by Michel Roux Jr.

As The Grocer went to press, Skrei was set to go on to the retailer’s Knightsbridge wet fish counter on Friday (27 January).

Only cod that meets strict quality criteria can be sold as Skrei. It has to be landed between January and April from the northern Norwegian coastline and can only be caught when fully grown, usually at about five years of age.

Its skin must be immaculate, it must be packaged within 12 hours of being caught and stored on ice. When sold in its whole form, the forward dorsal must bear the Skrei brand.

The maturity of the cod and the long distance the fish had travelled - from the Barents Sea to the northern Norwegian coast - created the exceptional flavour and texture of Skrei, said the Norwegian Seafood Council, which is currently running a campaign to grow sales of Norwegian cod in the UK.

Michel Roux Jr used Skrei at his Le Gavroche restaurant last year, claiming it “breaks into beautiful translucent flakes”.

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