Higher quality, less waste of seafood
A more sustainable packaging solutions, improvements in quality and increased shelf life of fish products will contribute to less food waste in shops and in people’s homes.
Food waste in the fishing industry is low, but consumers report throwing away nearly 9% of the fresh fish they buy, according to the Food Waste in Norway Report. Among the measures the industry is taking, consumers believe that increasing the shelf life of food is the most important one in reducing food waste in their homes.
The new product concept of the Norwegian fishing industry company Gunnar Klo AS is based on more sustainable packaging systems, improvements in quality and increased shelf life. Nofima and Gunnar Klo AS work together to develop good solutions, and the climate effects of the measures are measured by Norsus.
“Ensuring the quality and shelf life of products is important to prevent food waste later on in the value chain. This is central to the project, where we also look at improved packaging systems for increased sustainability without compromising the shelf life of fish products”, says Nofima scientist Anlaug Ådland Hansen.
Winner of the 2021 Food Award
Gunnar Klo AS received the 2021 Food Award. The award pays tribute to farmers, producers, chefs and communicators who take sustainability and the environment into consideration when working with food. Active collaboration with research communities is highlighted as being grounds for the nomination.
“We are very much focused on local value creation. For us, sustainability is a prerequisite for future operations. We must constantly push ourselves to reach new sustainability goals, and this project will take us a step further. Sustainable packaging, shelf life, quality and reduced food waste are key words in this context”, says Arne Karlsen, Managing Director of Gunnar Klo AS.
Industry Agreement on Reduction of Food Waste
“Research aimed at preventing food waste plays a key role in Nofima. Better utilisation of all raw materials, increased shelf life and optimal packaging systems are important research areas for us, and we are an active research partner in relation to the Industry Agreement on Reduction of Food Waste”, says Anlaug Ådland Hansen.
More than 100 Norwegian companies have signed an endorsement agreement as part of this industry agreement, and Gunnar Klo AS is one of these.
Research facts
The research is being carried out in the SupremeFilet project, which started in January 2021 and will continue to run until December 2023. In the project, Gunnar Klo AS is collaborating with the company Fresh PL, e-commerce actor Oda and the supermarket chain Rema 1000, as well as Südpack, Multivac and Norsus. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway.