MAROmega3

The main goal of this project has been to develop a pilot line to utilize mackerel cuts from an adjacent pilot line for mackerel filleting. The purpose of the pilot line is to lift the bar for more high-quality products for human consumption. Mackerel residues contain a good deal of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are particularly prone to oxidation. Oxidation occurs faster at higher temperatures, and it was therefore desirable to see if it was possible to extract the oil at a lower temperature than what is done today (90 ° C) while achieving a satisfactory yield. The mackerel feedstock oil was extracted at 20 to 90 ° C. The results showed at 40 ° C it was possible to extract around 50% of the oil in. Extraction at 90 ° C resulted in extraction of 60% of the oil. At the same time, the oil extracted at 40 ° C had a lower oxidation state. To investigate whether one can increase yield and increase the quality of oil, tests were performed to see if this can be done using two-step hydrolysis, a method based on extraction of oil at low temperature followed by enzymatic hydrolysis of the residual fraction. The tests showed that a higher oil yield can be obtained using the two-step process compared to hydrolysis alone. At the same time, the quality of the oil extracted before hydrolysis was of better quality compared to oil after hydrolysis. A model system was used to screen for various antioxidants and how they minimized oxidation in mackerel raw materials. Different concentrations and combinations of both synthetic and natural antioxidants were tested. The results of the screening showed that the synthetic antioxidants were effective in minimizing oxidation of the residual raw material. The most effective antioxidants and antioxidant mixtures were selected and further tested during lab scale oil production. Several production trials were conducted on a lab scale to study the effect of the addition of antioxidants on the quality and stability of the oil produced by thermal treatment or enzymatic hydrolysis. The results showed a mixture of the antioxidants was most effective in preventing oxidation throughout production. Several hydrolysis experiments were also performed to look at how enzyme type and hydrolysis time affect the composition and quality of protein hydrolyzate and the oil. In this study, four different enzymes were used in addition to the raw material's own enzymes. The results show that the endogenous enzymes are very active. Already through the heating of the raw material before hydrolysis, the hydrolysis was well underway, and analyzes showed that almost all the proteins had been broken down into smaller constituents. The endogenous enzymes gave the same yield as when using commercial enzymes for protein and oil but led to protein and fat binding together. Two of the commercial enzymes gave significantly higher yields than the others. In order to obtain products for human consumption, it is necessary to further process oil extracted from the mackerel. Epax has been responsible for developing methods for refining, stabilizing, and removing odors and tastes for the oil. Using the laboratory, pilot and full-scale experiments, Epax has developed a process for refining mackerel oil, this is now in use and the product is sold under the name EPAX 2000 TGN. The mackerel oil is basically not liquid at cooling temperature. This is usually solved by using a cold clearing process, but due to high yield losses, a completely new method had to be developed for this. The new process provides a acceptable yield. Furthermore, Epax has developed processes for separating the different groups of fatty acids from each other that are used to make concentrates of LCMUFA and VLCPUFA. The processes have been developed on a lab and pilot scale and we are now facing upscaling to full scale. If we succeed with upscaling, these will also be commercialized under the following product name, EPAX Cetoleic10. EPAX Cetoleic30 a product with a very high content of LCMUFA / ketolic acid. EPAX VLC10 has been developed on a pilot scale and the first pilot batch will be completed in Q1-22 for use in clinical studies. The mentioned concentrates have been used by Nofima to perform studies on the health effects associated with intake. The results showed that neither the brain nor the retina were particularly affected in either rats or salmon, but a clear increase in membrane lipid content in skin / skin was observed for both species. When using cell experiments on human skin cells, it was investigated whether the addition of LC-MUFA can have beneficial effects on skin health. Preliminary data from the experiment may indicate positive effects of LC-MUFA concentrate on skin health, especially related to hyperpigmentation. The pilot plant has been completed and has given several products based on oil that can be sold in the market

Prosjektet har hatt stor betydning for samarbeid mellom SINTEF, Nofima, og Pelagia. Vi vil benytte oss av deres kompetanse i fremtidige prosjekt. I tillegg har prosjektet bidratt til å styrke forholdet mellom Pelagia og Epax. I tillegg har vi blitt kjent med produsenter av enzymer, antioksidanter og hydrolyseutstyr. Prosjektet har gitt økt kunnskap om produksjonstekniske forhold, samt produktkvalitet og helseeffekter knyttet til inntak av pelagiske oljer. Resultatene er tatt inn i prosjekteringen av en helt ny fabrikk for behandling av restråstoff. Dersom vi i stor skala lykkes med å utnytte deler av råstoffet til høykostprodukter vil det gi positive resultater for hele næringen ettersom teknologileverandører vil selge dette inn til konkurrenter. Det vil gi flere bein å stå på og flere inntektskilder. Dette vil kunne forsvare økt foredlingsgrad av makrell. Det er for tidlig å si noe om de forventede miljøkonsekvensene

MAROmega er starten på en ny kategori av marine oljer og omega-3 produkter, produsert av ferskt restråstoff fra bærekraftige norske verdikjeder. Utfordringen ligger i at norske fiskearter har en mer utfordrende fettsyreprofil enn oljer som tradisjonelt raffineres til helsekost. I prosjektet vil bedriftene Pelagia og Epax, sammen med SINTEF og Nofima, utvikle teknologi for prosessering av restråstoff av makrell til olje, og videre utvikle og modifisere raffineringsteknologi for oljer med høyt innhold av mononumettede fettsyrer. Pelagia og Epax vil gjennom prosjektet utvikle et teknologisk forsprang som kan distansere den gryende konkurransen fra lavkostland, samt unngå kvalitetstap i råstoff ved å prosessere råstoffet ferskt. Prosjektet vil også utfordre sannheten om at det kun er EPA og DHA som har helseeffekt, ved å studere effekten av både langkjedede enumettede fettsyrer og veldig langkjedede flerumettede fettsyrer. Prosjektet ønsker å realisere verdipotensialet for pelagisk råstoff i mye større grad enn det vi er i stand til i dag. Ved å verdsette ferskt råstoff, samt øke foredlingen, kan industrien i Norge utvikle konkurransefortrinn på råstoffsiden og som råvareleverandør. Samtidig vil prosjektet føre til innovative produkter basert på makrell i helsemarkedet.