If you would like to send us an article, contact Margaret Stacey
Smart food made from small fish.
Enabling the Blue Food Revolution
(FINLAND, 4/26/2024)
Whether it’s salmonoid sidestreams, underutilized small pelagics or any other given low-value seafood raw material, Finish company Hailia transforms them into tasty, easy-to-use mainstream food products. In other words, Hailia turns their value from low to high with the company's patent-pending food production technology.
Up to 70% of processed fish end up as waste or low-value products. In the EU alone, this equals 3,500,000,000 kilograms of underutilized raw materials.
In times when there is a need to produce more food with less emissions while taking care of biodiversity, we need to use our resources more efficiently. As the global demand for blue food is expected to double by 2050, the pressure to adopt resource-conscious practices is growing. Hailia's food-producing technology helps to unlock the full potential of fish raw materials.
The perfect bite-sized chunk with a delicate fish flavour and nice texture. The Small Fish Strips retain their shape in both casseroles and soups.
The company's patent-pending technology can be used to valorize low-value sidestreams into seafood products such as chunks, bites, strips, and patties that stand out from the rest. The x-factor lies in the fillet-like structure, providing a pleasant mouthfeel and enabling versatile use in various cooking methods.
In addition to delivering the know-how and technology behind the products, Hailia has the readiness to produce them at the company's state-of-art full scale production facility in Karkkila, Finland.
The small fish products bear the Heart Symbol of the Finnish Heart Association, as they offer a healthier option. In addition to the healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins in the fish, the products offer the health benefits of oats.
Because of this innovative technology, fishers do not have to go out to sea. Hailia has succeeded in using bycatch fish that were previously too small for the dinner table and were used for other lower-value purposes. Currently, only some 4% of Finland’s Baltic herring catch ends up on the plates, but now the company has a smarter way to make use of fish.
The products are a perfect combination of small fish from the Baltic Sea (over 80%) and state-of-the-art food technology.
Hailia's small fish products are currently available for cooking professionals, i.e. restaurants and food service companies. In a near future they will also be found in grocery shops and supermarkets.
At present, Hailia offers Pulled Small Fish, a smart and convenient choice for any dish that calls for tuna – and many others, too and, Small Fish Strips that can easily be used to replace meat, chicken or just about any other ingredient in all familiar and beloved recipes. Oats round out the flavour of the fish such that even those who do not usually like fish enjoy the end result.
The products are quick and easy to prepare in familiar ways such as frying and simmering, or they can be made as a one-pot meal. The fish are caught from sustainable fish populations and are therefore MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified and listed as a green choice in WWF’s Finland Seafood Guide. You can in good conscience replace fish that is less sustainable with these products.
Products made with wild fish have a relatively small carbon footprint compared to other protein sources. Harvesting wild fish improves the state of waterways, as it removes harmful nutrients from the water.
Based on the calculated carbon footprint, the Small Fish Products offer an excellent solution for those looking for low-emission food. With a carbon footprint of 1.66 kgCO₂e/kg, Pulled Small Fish and Small Fish Strips secure their place in Biocode’s Benchmark Table in the top A category with a clear margin.
About Hailia Nordic Oy
Founded in 2021, Finish company Hailia, turns low-value, underutilized fish raw materials into high-value food products with the company's patent-pending food production method. As enablers in the seafood industry, Hailia assists in adding value to what fish processors have on hand.
Hailia has developed an innovative system to redirect fish-processing byproducts toward value-added use, utilizing leftover fish into valuable protein and turning them into a product resembling cooked fish fillets with an excellent mouthfeel characteristic of fish and with no unpleasant fish bones.
(FINLAND, 4/26/2024)
Print
