AtlantNIRO process engineers come forward with high-quality seafood from cheap raw materials
In particular, the Institute has come forward with such new product as vacuum-dried blue whiting offered as an alternative to beer fish snacks from China, Vietnam and South Korea. According to Mr. Andreev, the new product favorably differs from similar foreign counterparts because it will reach the consumer already boneless and skinned. For this product blue whiting is processed into mince which is mixed with additives. Then it is dried in vacuum atmosphere and cut. As a result, the texture of the product is rather attractive, Andreev underlined.
The other business activity of AtlantNIRO is the production of a wide range of products from the same raw material. The technology allows to produce a wide range of products from blue whiting, herring and so on. For example herring is processed into different preserves for all tastes.
The important direction is thermo conservation when the product is sterilized in a soft way. Such pasteurized canned products have a shorter shelf-life than fully sterilized products but soft processing allows to retain all useful components of the fish.
AtlantNIRO has also introduced the technology of the production of such products as fish ham with low salt content. This product is based on minced fish (cold or hot smoked). There is also a technology of sausage production from blue whiting with other fish species added.
One more very interesting development of AtlantNIRO has to do with the Russians call analog products. Though the technology of crab stick production from krill was developed as early as in Soviet times, now a number of companies, who are going to resume krill fishing and processing, are interested in this technology. The Russian Federation hasn't been catching krill since 1992 despite the fact that the TAC of the species totals about 4 million tonnes that is approximately equivalent to the harvested fish volume.
A further new direction has resulted in the production technology of canned products from fish milt, roe and liver. This technology allows to use the frozen products unfairly overlooked in the last few years. Unlike traditional natural cod liver, during such production all liver fat is retained in the can, preserving all useful substances in the product.
Besides AtlantNIRO has developed the production technology of fish products in pouches (so called retort products). The package attracts producers' attention because it is easy to use; it enables to save electric power and storage space.
Thus, according to Andreev, the Institute has developed a great variety of recipes making it possible for a manufacturer to form interesting production groups ranging from krill, squid and other non-finfish aquatic products to laminaria and fish.
Laminaria
"Atlantic Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography" has also designed the process which enables the processor to produce canned laminaria. In a situation of a very limited range of canned laminaria products on the market AtlantNIRO has made a presentation of such interesting developments as kelp confiture and jams. The production technology is simple and it can be implemented on the traditional production lines while providing the advantage of very unusual taste properties.
More information:
Tel.: +7(0112) 21-56-45
Fax: +7(0112) 21-99-97
E-mail: atlant@baltnet.ru, andreev@atlant.baltnet.ru
Director - Konstantin Kukhorenko.