The new system is the high-tech Icelandic company's first step in moving beyond whitefish processing and this is designed specifically to remove pinbones from salmon fillets. It uses X-ray technology to provide detailed 3D imaging, enabling bones to be located and the tiltable robot water-jet cutters to trim and portion fillets to achieve maximum yield by following the precise contours each side of the backbone.
A key feature is that this system can process salmon pre-rigor, taking out a significant part of the process, as salmon producers have until now needed to store fish post-slaughter for them to pass through the rigor stage before processing.
Valka's development eliminates the storage requirement, reducing the need for this storage capacity and facilities, while also extending the shelf life of the fish now that pinbones can be removed immediately after filleting. The enhanced flexibility of the water-jet cutters also makes it possible for processors can now produce new portion types. "Following the introduction of Valka's salmon portioning machine, we're excited at the possibilities that this opens up and by the time we come to display it at IceFish next year, we expect that it will have been in use for some time," said Valka's marketing manager Ágúst Sigurðarson.
He commented that IceFish has always been a great platform for Valka's products over the years."We're looking forward to this move into the salmon processing sector – and we'll be showing the salmon portioning system at IceFish, just as we have been there with our whitefish systems at previous events. So we're hoping that this will attract overseas salmon processors to the exhibition."
If you are interested in exhibiting, sponsoring, attending or speaking at 2020 IceFish please call +44 01329 825 335 or email info@icefish.is.
