Through new tech, seafood processors are able to meet the changing needs of consumer markets

Quality control is key to ensuring fresh seafood. Historically, this has been done by processing staff who use their senses and experience to examine the condition of gills and eyes, the firmness and smell of flesh and the colour of skin to distinguish between a fresh product and one that is not of good quality. But now, machines are helping seafood processors to supply retailers and consumers with top quality products, quantifying the freshness of seafood to meet food quality and safety regulations.

Torill Østingsen of Digital Industries Siemens insists that this type of automation is key to guaranteeing consumers the best-quality seafood.

“For Siemens, the food and beverage industry is a very important one to do business with,” she told WF. “Fisheries and aquaculture obviously fall within this industry, and we are seeing that aquaculture is becoming increasingly important as the oceans are dramatically overfished and more than 100 million tonnes of fish are consumed worldwide. If we are to protect the oceans while also meeting the demand for seafood, we will need automated processes across the seafood supply chain.

“Processors are one part of the supply chain where automated processes are crucial, because they must guarantee that retailers and consumers only receive top quality seafood. At Siemens, our focus is to help our customers obtain good quality, profitable food that has been produced in a sustainable way.”