A year after launching technology that enables food manufacturers to utilize ground-up chicken bones and hard tissues in their products, Finnish food tech company SuperGround has expanded into the seafood space.
SuperGround's patented process softens, heat-treats, and grinds fish byproducts – including previously unusable bones, skin, scales, and other hard tissue – into a thick paste that can be used in the production of fish sticks, fish nuggets, fish soups, and more.
“For the first time, everything except the guts can be used in the production of consumer-friendly fish products,” SuperGround Founder and Chief Innovator Santtu Vekkeli told SeafoodSource.
Vekkeli said he was looking for new ways to implement his technology when he realized that fish bones are similar to chicken bones.
“They are both small and soft, which means that with simple modifications, both can be processed with the same equipment,” he said.
The process releases collagen from the calcium phosphate structures in the hard tissues, along with vitamins and minerals. As a result, incorporating the paste into manufactured products increases the nutritional value, as the products include a higher volume of protein, vitamins, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids compared to simple fish fillets.
The basic machinery can produce 500 to 650 kilograms of paste per hour, and up to 1.5 million kilograms per year, but multiple machines can be placed on an integrated processing line. According to Vekkeli, the transformation process is very quick, taking around three minutes to complete.
Vekkeli said he was inspired to perfect the seven-stage transformational process as a small step towards fighting the global issues of overfishing and food waste, which in turn helps to address food security.
“We estimate that the process allows between 20 to 60 percent more food to be produced from fish than was previously possible, depending on the species. This is important, as global demand for seafood is expected to grow over the next decade, particularly in high-income and upper middle-income countries,” Vekkeli said.
According to global data from Statista, the fish and seafood industry achieved an estimated annual revenue of USD 612 billion (EUR 571 billion) in 2023, which will grow by 6.23 percent per year to 2027. Volume growth will be around five percent in 2024, and reach more than 39,000 million kilograms by 2027. Vekkeli said SuperGround’s technology will help the seafood industry meet that demand while alleviating environmental concerns some consumers have about seafood.
“People are developing plant-based alternatives to help save the planet, but not everyone wants to eat these. Many people want to keep eating real seafood, but with a clear conscience,” he said. “Our solution for producing more tasty fish products without putting additional pressure on the fishing industry is a win-win situation.”
Vekkeli said trials have shown that fish balls can have between 15 and 30 percent of their content replaced with fish paste without affecting their taste and up to 15 percent fish fillet products such as fish sticks can be replaced with fish paste.
“Incorporating our smooth paste also enhances the taste and silky mouthfeel of fish products, which makes them appealing to consumers. Importantly, the paste has a taste profile similar to fish broth, which is readily acceptable to people, so does not cause them to query what they are eating,” he said.
According to Vekkeli, humans have a long history of eating fish bones, and the only obstacle to more widespread adoption has been processing efficiency.
“Fish bones have been used as food previously, but an efficient process to soften hard tissues was nonexistent. Our process enables food manufacturers to unlock and utilize the full potential of fish," Vekkeli said. "On a grander scale, using every part of the fish helps to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the fish industry, and enables consumers to make more-sustainable, nutritious choices without changing their dietary habits.”
SuperGround is a small company of food scientists, food chemists, microbiologists, engineers and mechanics, and does not manufacture the processing machinery itself, Vekkeli said.
“We innovate, design, and assemble lines for customers, but sell the technology and sub-contract production of the seven machines, which are available from a number of different manufacturers,” he said.
Vekkeli said the company has received positive reaction from those who have sampled SuperGround's fish paste, and has now begun initial discussions with food manufacturers and foodservice companies on distribution agreements.
“Our food-production technology is available to fish companies worldwide, and there is a lot of excitement from people who see its potential to make their own products more cost-efficient and ethical,” Vekkeli said. “What we offer is a ready-to-use solution that improves the sustainability of existing and popular food choices.”
Photo courtesy of SuperGround
