Image: Revista Puerto / FIS

Conarpesa and Wofco Sign Commercial Agreement with Gallo

SPAIN
Thursday, May 02, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)

To produce seafood broth (fish stock) that is made with the heads of the Argentine shrimp. The product has just gone on sale and is presented as a solution to changes in consumer habits.

Source: Revista Puerto

In the coming days, the shelves of the main supermarkets in Spain will incorporate a new product from the Gallo firm, the seafood broth that is produced with the heads of shrimp processed by Conarpesa company in Argentina, based on the commercial agreement signed by Wofco with one of the best-known pasta and broth factories on the Spanish market.

Source: Directo al Paladar -->

For today's average consumer, who is looking for ready-to-eat preparations, thinking about boiling shrimp heads to obtain a broth is almost unthinkable and this type of preparation allows the consumer to keep close to marine flavors in a practical way. A challenge that the international fishing industry has been facing as it sees the consumption of fish and seafood fall year after year.

This change in habits was confirmed last year by leading supermarkets, wholesalers and hoteliers, in the talk they gave at the FAO Congress in Conxemar. Mercadona's Environment Manager pointed out that “we have detected that fish consumption is falling significantly” and announced that they were looking for ways to improve access to the product and facilities for consumption at home. Those responsible for the marketing company Alcampo and Norma Foods commented in the same sense.

Source: Jet Extramar

But the fact of transforming shrimp heads into a culinary consumer product, in addition to improving their reach to the consumer, allows us to think about a sustainable and profitable destination for waste from seafood production on land, thus contributing to the total use of resources and care of the environment.

“Waste from fishing and marketing of crustaceans constitutes approximately 60% of the weight of the product and entails the need to eliminate, annually, several thousand tons of biological waste,” states the document prepared by Kennedy University.

Source: Revista Puerto

The fishing industry, since the increase in the production of shrimp tails in Patagonia, has tried different solutions, the most sophisticated being sending the waste to a flour mill. But obviously it is not the only solution. The marketing of shrimp heads for the food industry also allows it to be transformed into a profitable product.

<-- Source: Jet Extramar

It is clear that this commercial venture will only absorb a small part of the tens of thousands of tons that are generated annually in shrimp processing, but it is interesting to continue moving along that path. As the author of the Kennedy University report, Mónica Galdi, explained at the time, these wastes, due to their properties, can find a market in various industries.

The skin and head of the shrimp are built by a biological matrix that is not very biodegradable, whose determining component of the three-dimensional structure is chitin, which is very useful. “Current production is intended for the cosmetic, agronomic, food, preservative and antioxidant industries; pharmaceutical and textile. It also has industrial use for filtration and purification of waste or drinking water, reverse osmosis and control of solvent separation,” Galdi indicated.

Marketing waste to be transformed into food or industrial products seems to be one of the most sustainable options that the fishing industry has to contribute to the care of the environment, while also generating income.

Source: Revista Puerto  (Translated from the original in Spanish)

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