Lerøy working on key salmon blood health project
The Lerøy Seafood company is working on a project that could develop salmon blood into an important health supplement, it has been disclosed.
The Norwegian research organisation, SINTEF, says the aquaculture industry has a residual raw material utilisation rate of approximately 94%, but at the moment the only remaining part that is not used is the blood.
Transforming the blood into a resource is something the industry has been working on for over 20 years.
Lerøy has been collaborating with several R&D communities for several years to explore opportunities and how to exploit them.
“After working hard for several years to develop this unique product, we are proud to see the results. This really underlines Lerøy’s reputation for innovation and sustainability”, says Mats Trones, who heads Lerøy’s “100% Fish” department.
The product, which has been given the name SalmoFer®, is not just the world’s first iron ingredient from salmon, but also the first of its kind.
“To our knowledge, this is the only commercially available iron ingredient from marine raw materials”, Mats explained.
What is unique about SalmoFer® is that it makes use of the protein haemoglobin in the salmon blood. This is naturally rich in heme iron, which is a natural source of iron.
“Heme iron is a fantastic source of iron! Our bodies absorb it more efficiently and easily than non-heme iron”, he said.
In practice, this means consumers avoid the unwanted side effects such as an upset stomach, constipation and stomach pain, which many people experience when taking iron supplements. In addition, its absorption is not affected by drinking coffee, tea or wine, or by consuming dairy products.
Lerøy’s goal is to create the world’s most efficient and sustainable value chain for seafood. As a sign of its dedication to this, the company is committed to meeting the Paris Agreement goal of reducing emissions by 46% by 2030.
“Lerøy is putting a significant amount of effort into measuring and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions throughout its value chain”, says Anne Hilde Midttveit, Head of ESG & Quality at Lerøy.
One of the things the company is doing to reach its sustainability goals is making use of a higher proportion of its raw materials.
“One of our strategic priorities is to make better use of our own raw materials by increasing the value of our by-products”, says Lerøy’s CEO, Henning Beltestad.
