Bylgja Pálsdóttir explains how ValuePump™, the groundbreaking new multi-functional innovation from Skaginn 3X, will help food processors leverage the full value of raw materials
When it comes to purchasing food, quality remains the number one consumer requirement. As a motivation to buy, it induces more sales than sustainability and traceability. And, as many brands will testify, quality even trumps price, although there is, of course, a strong correlation between the two: while better quality can help bring a premium price, the opposite is also true. There’s a wealth of published studies in the public domain substantiating the ranking of these important market drivers.
The reason that quality is of critical importance to the seafood category has everything to do with the raw materials themselves and their propensity to spoil at quicker rates than many other centerplate proteins. This may be the trade-off for being one of the most diverse and versatile food groups available to us. But fortunately seafood processors are, by their nature, highly progressive businesses. To enable consumers everywhere to enjoy and benefit from the fruits of sea and aquaculture, the sector remains firmly on the front foot when it comes to applying new technologies that can elevate yield and utilization. Take our SUB-CHILLING™ system, for instance. In quickly chilling whole fish down to below the freezing point of water without actually putting the product into a frozen state, it’s extending an already considerable number of product shelf lives by up to seven days. Essentially, it locks in all of the freshness, flavor and healthy nutrients of the fish as quickly as possible, thereby optimizing end-product quality and maximizing revenue potential.
ValuePump™, the latest innovation from Skaginn 3X, takes our Sub-Chilling™ technology and product quality to the next level. With the understanding that fish processing is a race against time and every minute is precious, a primary function of the ValuePump™ is to expedite fish from one stage of processing to another, but crucially it has the added capability to conduct a variety of other crucial functions during this fast transit. These operations include shortening the bleeding process, and speeding up chilling, as well as washing, disinfecting, freezing and boiling raw materials. Indeed, it’s the ability to boil in the pump that’s completely new to seafood processing. We believe that this unique function will be of considerable value to the shrimp sector in particular, allowing products to be both boiled and frozen in transit through processing plants.
With regards to actual bleeding time, the rapid water flow in the ValuePump™ reduces this essential process down to 5-10 minutes without any negative impact to the raw materials condition. While being bled and chilled, the fish are also being thoroughly cleaned—another essential procedure. In a comprehensive series of trials, we evidenced that the ValuePump™ can bleed and chill farmed salmon in under 15 minutes—a process that usually takes 45-60 minutes. Of course, a quicker bleeding and chilling process means that the fish can reach this vital stage before rigor mortis sets in. Consequently, flesh integrity is better maintained, resulting in superior quality fillets.
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This broad array of valuable tasks is enabled by a variety of possible liquids that accompany the products in transit through the pump. These liquids are easily introduced to the ValuePump™, which is as proficient with liquid temperatures of 80°C as it is with those of minus 20°C.
Moreover, the ValuePump™ can be used across the food processing spectrum, handling raw material sizes from a just few grams up to 10 kgs. As such, it can accomodate everything from salmon to shrimp (and even larger items from poultry and meat processing), and add value in every sector—from pelagic and whitefish fisheries to traditional and closed containment aquaculture systems. In maximizing flexibility, Skaginn 3X has also ensured that the ValuePump™ is as effective at sea as it is on land. No matter what the requirement, in going through the ValuePump™, all raw materials end up better prepared for further processing. Ultimately, the existing equipment receives better products to work with, and has the ability to supply customers and consumers with products of consistently higher quality and value.
Another significant development is that the ValuePump™ offers the first opportunity to add value to some of the most delicate aquatic species available on the market. Skaginn 3X has, for example, been exploring techniques to fillet blue whiting—a process that has been beyond the capabilities of conventional supply chains. However, with the ability to firm the fish’s flesh, it’s no longer beyond the cost-effective capabilities of the sector, thus potentially opening up lucrative new markets.
Officially unveiled this May at Seafood Expo Global 2019 in Brussels, the ValuePump™ is a super-fast, multi-functional value-adding innovation that helps deliver the quality levels and flexibility that enhances product value and consumer trust in seafood value chains across the industry.
