Thai Union Ingredients (TUI), a subsidiary of Thai Union, has put into operation a new omega-3 oil facility in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, and is looking for research and development partners for the facility.
The mission of the Omega-3 Centre of Excellence (O3C) facility is to research more-efficient methods for refining various omega-3 oils, Thai Union said in a statement on 4 May. The company said it is seeking research partners for the development of infant nutrition, dietary supplements, and nutritional foods.
The new center will play a vital role in TUI’s strategy to extract value from every part of the fish production process at Thai Union, according to Thai Union CEO and President Thiraphong Chansiri.
“Our goal of ‘healthy living, healthy oceans’ is core to the future of Thai Union and the common thread across our business strategy. Our new Omega-3 Centre of Excellence epitomizes this vision, making sure we not only maximize the value from every fish and plant we use but also help people of all ages stay healthy and active,” Chansiri said.
The O3C will include laboratories and research facilities and will be located in TUI’s crude fish oil factory in Samut Sakhon. The group will also work closely with TUI’s omega-3 oil refinery in Rostock, Germany.
O3C has already made a key contribution to the optimization of the refinery process for UniQ DHA, a tuna oil product produced by TUI, according to Thai Union. At O3C, TUI can “test and scale oils with different nutritional values, sensory attributes, and concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) – a key ingredient in baby formula,” it said.
Thai Union said high-quality materials will be refined using advanced technologies at O3C to make sure they meet quality standards and requirements of customers. The materials will then be transferred to Rostock for testing at a larger scale before being delivered to customers.
“In the very near future, we will install pilot scale facilities that resemble our facilities in Rostock even better to help validate the process from lab scale to commercial scale,” TUI Managing Director Leonardus Coolen said. “All companies interested in the production of highest quality omega-3 applications are welcome to collaborate with us – we have the people, the expertise and the processing facilities to meet their expectations.”
Photo courtesy of Thai Union
