Stine Torheim, Manager at Grieg's Alta plant.

A cool customer

A deal for an innovative cooling system that supposedly extends the shelf life of fresh salmon by up to a week was signed by Grieg Seafood Finnmark last month. 

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The firm is the first salmon producer in Norway to adopt Skaginn 3X’s Sub Chilling system, which is being installed on their plant in Alta. However, the system has been used by Arnarlax in Iceland since 2015.

A Sub Chilled salmon fillet. Image: Skaginn 3X.

Sub Chilling brings the ability to rapidly cool the salmon without freezing the fish, bringing the core temperature of the raw material down to -1.5 °C at packing.

According to Skaginn 3X, the rapid cooling increases the shelf life of the salmon by 5-7 days and means it is possible to store and transport fish without ice. This results in reduced transport costs, increased opportunities for new and distant markets and increased supply and more sustainability.

"We in Grieg Seafood Finnmark want to be pioneers in technology and our latest investment in Sub Chilling fits well in our mission as a company, namely to offer our customers the best possible quality, while minimizing our environmental impact of transporting goods,” says Stine Torheim, manager at Grieg’s Alta slaughterhouse.

The Sub Chilling system. Image: Skaginn 3X.

In addition to the benefits of the system and the quality of goods, Stine says the system can contribute to stabilizing output and open up opportunities for new markets.

"We expect the system to help keep a steady production and good quality throughout the year, even when seawater temperatures fluctuate with the seasons. With new cooling technique and far better durability, we ensure good quality to distant markets which have a long transit time for delivery," she says.

The system should be up and running at Grieg's Alta plant by April 2017.