Technology

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a compound derived from renewable resources such as corn starch, sugarcane, or tapioca that can be used for the manufacture of plastic packaging materials that have several advantages over plastics produced from oil. Among the companies that are using this material is Depron, a manufacturer of packaging materials based in the Netherlands.

Skagerak Salmon, part of the Skagerak Group, specialises in salmon products both semi-processed, but also increasingly portions for the retail market and more value-added products. About 60% of the production is fresh fish while the rest is frozen.

The market for plate freezers has always been fiercely competitive. Over the last years, however, with the entry on to the market of Asian companies that can produce equipment at lower costs than their European counterparts, the focus has moved to innovation, reliability, and customer service.

“Fish slaughter” can be understood in different ways: It generally comprises preparatory measures for the slaughter process, then the stunning and actual killing of the fishes, as well as gutting. In the past the focus was primarily on efficiency and profitability.

In 1976 the independent sales representative Rudolf Maass founded in co-operation with Adolf Cavier the company Rudolf Maass + Partner KG in Hamburg. His vision was the development and production of a salmon slicer for industrial use. This was the genesis of the Maass Salmon Slicer CM 176. Through constant, intensive co-operation between producer and customers, the company’s range of slicers grew rapidly.

Fish and seafood are today transported around the globe by road, sea and air. Whilst transporting durable products such as canned or salted foods is relatively easy, fresh and frozen products make considerably more demands on the carrier. It’s live fish that present the really big challenge, however. Their transport is expensive and difficult, but to make up it enables top freshness and quality.

In the late 80s a number of processing lines made by the Swedish firm VMK and the German Baader were installed on Russian vessels. This was followed by a pause where few Russian vessels were overhauled. Now however, according to Ulf Groenqvist of Seac AB, there seems to be a small boom in the number of Russian and Ukrainian factory vessels that are being refurbished. These boats are being upgraded with either new or completely renovated processing machinery.

3X Technology manufactures a range of processing solutions for the white fish, salmon, shrimp, and pelagic fish sectors. Founded in 1994 the company has developed from supplying the local processing industry on Iceland to selling its equipment on the international market, earning it awards for its export performance.

A manufacturer of autoclaves for the food and pharmaceutical industries Steriflow SAS is a 35-year old company whose equipment is used around the world. In 2005 Steriflow SAS licensed the Shaka technology which was invented in the UK. Using this technique the product is vigorously shaken while in the autoclave. The frequency of the shaking is 100-150 cycles per minute and this movement increased the penetration of heat into the product thereby allowing a reduction in the cycle time compared to regular autoclaves. The equipment can be used with any kind of container including cans, glass jars, pouches, and plastic trays.

Whether it’s herring from the North Atlantic, shrimps from Asian farms, or hake from the southernmost point of Africa, a lot of seafood products are traded frozen. Before they can be further processed they have to be thawed. In industry, special defrosters are used to do this. They are based on different technologies and for this reason alone there is no “ideal” technique that fulfils all requirements.