This year, at the Seafood Processing Global in Brussels, Icelandic technology company Valka will debut a new version of its water-jet Cutter machine.
The new Valka Cutter is explicitly designed to cut and remove pin bones from pre-rigor salmon as well as portioning the fillet and is said to increase productivity for processing companies.
Helgi Hjálmarsson, chief executive of Valka, said that the company was proud to present the new Cutter at Seafood Processing Global. “It is our long-term goal at Valka to move beyond white-fish processing, and this machine is the first step in that direction. We are excited to start working with the salmon industry in streamlining their production to both best utilise the fish and to maximise their value,” he said.
The Valka Cutter machine uses a dual X-ray camera system for 3D scanning of pin bones that produces an image with the exact angle to cut from. Furthermore, the machine is equipped with two tiltable cutting robots that can accurately follow the slope on each side of the bones.
Until now, processors have had to wait for the fish to pass pre-rigor stage and debone the fillets post rigor. With this new technology, the pin bone can be removed immediately after filleting adding shelf life to the products. Additionally, with the flexibility from the water-jet cutter, processors can now produce new portion types.
