SeafoodSource is closely following seafood processing and equipment innovation by compiling a regular round-up of updates from the sector.
- Sydney, Australia-based University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has announced a collaboration with researchers at the Vietnam National University and Ho Chi Minh University of Technology to develop a real-time aquaculture monitoring system in Xuan Dai Bay, Vietnam.
The system will be scaleable and non-site-specific, the University of Technology Sydney said in a release. The system was first announced in March 2020 and monitors temperature, acidity, ammonia, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and turbidity to provide real-time data to aquaculture farmers. The technology is capable of withstanding harsh conditions and offers alerts eo snure farmers can make timely decisions.
"Aquaculture is an important industry in Vietnam, generating an income of AUD 11 billion [USD 7.2 billion, EUR 6.6 billion] per year. While it can have rich economic rewards for farmers and the regions they live in, it can be a precarious livelihood," UTS Associate Dean International in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Eryk Dutkiewicz said.
Vietnamese provinical officials also lauded the project's ability to provide governments with data that they can also use to make timely decisions.
"The data from the real-time seawater monitoring system allows the local government to assess and better plan aquaculture and other activities like tourism toward sustainable, social, and economic development goals while protecting the environment and coping with global climate change, especially in coastal areas," Phu Yen province Vice President Le Tn Ho said.
- New York City, U.S.A.-based Metropolitan Realty Associates (MRA) acquired a cold storage facility for USD 12.6 million (EUR 11.6 million) in the Bayport hamlet on Long Island.
The facility, the purchase of which closed 14 February, is positioned to meet the increasing demand for refrigerated storage and food preparation areas in the greater Long Island and New York markets, according to the company.
- Lutz, Florida, U.S.A.-based X-ray technology company Eagle Production debuted The Pack 320 PRO (pictured) for inspecting small to mid-sized packaging products within the seafood, meat, and poultry industries.
The machine can perform multiple quality control checks simultaneously in a single pass, including contamination detection, mass measurement, package integrity, and component counts.
"The Pack 320 PRO features SimulTask PRO advanced imaging and processing software that provides high-resolution and extraordinarily detailed X-ray images with the highest grayscale range," the company said in a release. "The Eagle TraceServer X-ray software program records valuable production data and machine status information from one or more of Eagle’s X-ray machines and consolidates it into a single centralized database. Eagle Repository is supplied as a standard, which provides a simple way of storing, viewing, and transferring production information such as statistics, event logs, and manually saved images."
Eagle Production also announced it will debut its PACK 400 HC X-ray machine – its quality assurance system ideal for seafood products.
“The RMI 400 X-ray inspection system on display is hygienically constructed to sanitary design with a unique ... design for better product handling. The system’s X-ray inspection technology provides outstanding detection of physical contaminants regardless of their size, shape, or location within a product. The RMI 400 can find and reject harmful bone fragments ... in a wide variety of seafood applications and can also detect stainless steel, ferrous, and non-ferrous metals,” Eagle Production said in a release.
The RMI 400 will be on display at the 2024 edition of Seafood Expo North America, which will take place from 10 to 12 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
- Grieg Seafood announced the launch of its new value-added processing plant in Oslo Airport City, Gardermoen, Norway.
The facility will process salmon from Grieg’s operations in both the north and south of Norway, with the company explaining the investment is part of its strategy to increase value creation and process more of its fish internally.
The new factory cost a total of NOK 130 million (USD 12.4 million, EUR 11.5 million) and is expected to initiate operations in the summer of 2025. It will have an annual processing capacity of 10,000 to 12,000 MT head-on gutted equivalent, with an option of increasing the capacity to 20,000 MT if needed at a later stage. The facility will also generate 60 new jobs.
“Grieg Seafood aims to take one step closer to the customer and the market. With this tailor-made facility, we will make high-quality products from our fish with the most modern equipment available. In addition, we will be able to cut significant amounts of carbon emissions from the transportation of our products to the world,” Grieg CCO Erik Holvik said in a release.
