Frequently Asked Questions

If you have questions, inquiries or concerns, you've come to the right place.

Below you'll find answers to some of the most frequently asked generic questions about D'Artagnan. In addition, we have separate pages that answer questions related to Online Ordering Questions and Shipping & Delivery Questions. If your question doesn't appear below, feel free to Contact Us anytime.

COMPANY

Our headquarters and primary warehouse are located in Union, New Jersey. We also have regional offices and warehouses in Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Macon, Georgia, and Denver, Colorado.

No. While our name is French and our founder, Ariane Daguin, is from France, D’Artagnan is a U.S.-based company.

Yes we do! Please take a minute to submit our New Wholesale Customer Request Form and one of our local Sales Managers will happily contact you.

No. Currently, we don't have a consumer catalog - as the website serves to identify the products currently available to our home consumers.

This was a membership program offered at dartagnan.com designed to offer members additional discounts on select products throughout the year. The program ended in November 2015. D’Artagnan is considering relaunching a new and improved membership/loyalty program in the future.

FOOD RELATED

Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale – a cross between wheat and rye. These proteins give bread and other baked goods their springy texture, and help bind ingredients in other foods. Gluten acts as a glue of sorts, and can be found in many prepared foods.

While all raw meat is naturally gluten-free, regardless of what the animal is fed, some of our prepared products may contain gluten, or be made in a facility that processes other products that may contain soy, dairy, wheat or tree nuts. Please check individual product details and ingredients.

Yes. The product images used on our site are the actual products we sell. We do our best to select and photograph a product that best represents the item, with the understanding that with raw food, the item you receive may have slight differences in size, shape, composition, color and/or marbling.

While D’Artagnan exercises the highest standards of refrigeration, it is possible under some conditions for frozen products to partially thaw in transit. According to the USDA, it is safe to refreeze foods that have thawed under refrigeration. We recommend either putting in the refrigerator and using within 5 days, or freezing within 48 hours of receiving your order.

Generally, the USDA states freezing keeps food safe almost indefinitely, with quality being affect by the freezer conditions and length of time being frozen. A key component to maintaining quality is ensuring the wrapping/packaging of the product is not permeable to air (i.e vacuum sealed). For optimum taste and tenderness, the USDA recommends storing all frozen foods at 0° F (or lower) to retain vitamin content, color, flavor and texture. If you do not vacuum seal all your frozen food and/or given your home freezer may not be that cold, we recommend you use frozen products within 4 weeks of receipt.

D’Artagnan proudly services chefs and restaurants, food retailers and home cooks across the nation.

We sell to many food retailers across the nation. While we work to develop a store locator, we encourage you to look for our products when you’re shopping. Alternatively, you can Contact Us and we’ll do our best to try and locate the closest D’Artagnan retailer in your area.

NOTE: Product selections and availability vary by individual supermarket/food retailer.

There are currently rumors circulating on social media and in some news sources about mRNA vaccines being required in livestock.

The mRNA vaccines for livestock have been under development for years but none have been licensed for use in the United States. The Animal Health Institute said mRNA animal vaccines are one to five years away, and they are not to be confused with RNA technologies already in use.

A USDA spokesperson Marissa Perry recently stated, “There is no requirement or mandate that producers vaccinate their livestock for any disease.”

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association also issued a statement that mRNA vaccines are not even available for cattle in the United States.

To learn more about vaccines in livestock, seek information from the USDA, farm journals, and associations with up-to-date information from the farms directly.

At D’Artagnan, we work with farmers that treat animals well and raise them with plenty of space to ensure their natural health and immune function. This limits the need for antibiotics and other drugs and makes for nutritious and safe meat for human consumption. We will inquire with our farmers and ranchers and keep our customers informed as this story evolves.

If you want to learn more, read these articles from Progressive Farmer, Drovers, and Farm Journal.

https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/business-inputs/article/2023/04/17/separating-science-myth-mrna-animal
https://www.drovers.com/news/education/livestock-and-mrna-vaccines-what-you-need-know
https://www.porkbusiness.com/news/education/livestock-and-mrna-vaccines-what-you-need-know

SEAFOOD RELATED

We took a lot of care in freezing your fish; how you unfreeze it is just as important. That’s why we recommend that whatever thawing method you use, ALWAYS remove the frozen fish from the vacuum-sealed packaging in which it is shipped. For more details please review our defrosting tips.

Although it may seem a paradox, frozen seafood is actually fresher and of better quality than fish that has not been frozen. Because of the delicate nature of fish, and the distances it may need to travel from the ocean to your table, the best way to maintain flavor and quality is to freeze it rapidly, at sea or on a nearby dock, as soon after the catch as possible. This also allows for it to be transported more slowly by land instead of by air, which reduces the carbon footprint.

Individual Quick Freezing, usually abbreviated IQF, is a rapid freezing method - it takes only a few minutes - used in food processing. The process is ideal for preserving seafood because IQF prevents large ice crystals from forming in the cells which destroys the cellular membrane. This process protects the texture, color, shape and flavor quality better than other methods of freezing.

In all cases, our fish has been packaged with portion control in mind. Depending on the type of fish, some are individually vacuum-sealed, some are 2 filets to a tray, and the shellfish is packaged as 1 lb per bag.

Wild fish are caught in the ocean, in the most safe and sustainable way, while farm-raised fish are raised either in open ocean aquaculture or pristine land aquafarms. Wild fish eat whatever they can, and farmed fish are fed a regular diet; this impacts the fat content and nutritional profile of the fish. Some prefer to eat farmed salmon, for instance, because the fat improves flavor and texture. We offer both wild and farmed seafood to please every taste.

In the case that any portion of your fish order arrives partially unfrozen, put it immediately in the freezer. It is safe and will not lose any of its flavor or quality.

All of our fish fillets come deboned and individually portioned. Despite the deboning, we recommend checking and removing any smaller bones that may be present.

You will need to remove the shells from the shrimp. Depending on the recipe, you may need to remove the skin from certain cuts. Please make sure to review our defrosting tips before cooking your fish.

Yes! You can find our collection of seafood recipes here. Check back as we will be testing and sharing more fish recipes.

You may think of us as a meat company - but we are much more! As experts in sustainable proteins with 35+ years of experience we saw the need for quality seafood and were able to partner with outstanding sources to provide it.

Fish should be cooked immediately after thawing, or stored in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours before cooking.

•Fatty fish like salmon, sea bass will last 3 to 6 months in the freezer.
•Lean fish like ahi tuna, cod, and mahi mahi will last 6 to 12 months.
•Shellfish like shrimp, scallops, and langoustines will last 6 to 12 months.