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A PROFESSIONAL fish taster in Grimsby has had her tongue insured - for a cool £4 million.
The chiefs at Young's, Britain's top selling seafood company, have taken out a £32,000 a year insurance premium to protect the taste buds of Jenny Douglas, who samples 60 different pieces of seafood every day.
Affectionately named 'The Codmother' by her colleagues, Jenny tries a sample from all 80,000 tonnes of fish and seafood, including Alaskan Salmon, bought each year by Young’s Seafood – the nation’s favourite name in fish.
Her palate is so prized by bosses at Young's, Mrs Douglas is now seeking to have her tongue, taste buds and sense of smell insured by Lloyds of London, meaning her prize assets are worth more than Heidi Klum's legs (£1.15m) and rock singer Bruce Springsteen’s voice (£3.5m).
Jenny, whose grandfather was a Grimsby distant water fisherman, says she takes her job very seriously, and maintains a strict regime to protect her taste buds such as avoiding spicy foods like curry and alcohol.
A typical day sees Jenny tasting a wide variety of fish. Her job is to help improve seafood quality and standards with suppliers from across the world. She also travels on a regular basis to visit suppliers to deliver training and teach them about standards the specification requirements.
She said: "I love my job and I still eat fish at home." Her favourites are cod and halibut.
Young's Seafood boss Leendert den Hollander said: "We are proud to be experts in fish, but it is people like Jenny who make sure our products are the best they can be. It might be odd to insure someone's palate, but it shows the importance of Jenny's skills."
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