Marine Harvest’s has launched a new type of packaging that has won accolades for keeping seafood more fresh and preserving taste.
Its "double protection" three-web packaging took home the top prize for packaging at this year’s Seafood Expo Global event, held in Brussels, Belgium on 26 April. Judges in the contest noted that the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) preserved the quality of fresh fish – visually, sensory and bacteriologically.
“In the growing pre-packing business of fresh fish at Marine Harvest, we strictly respect a list of priority measures enabling us to ensure the best quality during the whole shelf life of the pre-packed fish, from the processing plant to the consumers’ plate,” the company said in a press release.
The three-web packagin allowed for “the best of both worlds,” said the company, as it combines the benefits of the increasingly popular skin-pack technology and those of MAP packaging, in the following ways:
- The fish is fixated in the packaging which allows for upright positioning in the shelves and a better presentation of the fish
- Any moisture leaving the fish during its shelf life is "locked" around the fish, so no "puddle of moisture" in the packs
- The fish looks good thanks to its direct coverage by the shiny transparent film
- The MAP gas between the permeable skin film and non-permeable top film ensures the best quality of the fish throughout its shelf life
MAP packaging in particular serves to maximize the level of CO2 in the vessel, respects the applicable headspace ratio and allows for the selection of best gas composition optimized for each species. In addition, MAP gas composition can help to reduce the formation of trimethylamine (TMA) starting from trimethylamine-oxide (TMAO), which correlates with a better look and taste, said Marine Harvest.
