From World Oceans Day to National Marine Week, at biomega® we are keen to celebrate marine life. We make it our mission to protect and conserve our oceans by using sustainably sourced raw materials in combination with our sustainable manufacturing processes in our European biorefineries. This means we are continuously investing in new research and development projects, including our latest biorefinery installation in Hirtshals, Denmark , to ensure we are doing everything possible to reduce the environmental impact on our oceans.

National Marine Week 

While biomega® is a global company, operating across markets in Europe, the USA and Asia, we recognize the importance of key national events to help raise awareness of ocean conservation. National Marine Week, which is a 16-day UK event that runs from 23 rd July to 7 th August this year, is a public awareness campaign founded by The Wildlife Trusts that aims to combat five main challenges facing marine habitats. This includes reducing over-fishing and pollution, increasing protected areas, changing human behavior and working with the seafood industry and its supply chain to create a sustainable future.

According to National Geographic, just 7% of our planet’s oceans are protected, with no more than 2.7% under high levels of protection 1 . The European Commission aims to change this by introducing a new directive under its Biodiversity Strategy to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 2 . Although an ambitious task, biomega® – alongside others in the industry – firmly backs this sustainability directive and believes it can be achieved if the seafood supply chain works together. In fact, new research published in Nature, suggests that protecting 30% of our oceans will not only restore biodiversity but could increase the annual global catch by 8 million tonnes 1 .

Sourcing sustainable Atlantic salmon

At biomega®, we work with sustainably certified companies including Global GAP, ASC and BRC to source the highest quality, fresh food-grade Atlantic salmon parts to deliver the best in human nutrition. Headquartered in Norway, we are proud to be based in a country that is the second-largest exporter of seafood worldwide 3 and the world’s single largest producer of farmed salmon 4 . Due to strict environmental and feeding regulations in Norway, combined with regular inspections by the Norwegian Food Authorities, brands can rest assured that the Atlantic salmon sourced through our suppliers is pure, fresh and sustainable, since they have been upcycled from traditional rest streams with zero waste.

But our environmental approach doesn’t just stop there! With over 20 years in research and development in sustainable biorefining, our unique and patented continuous enzymatic hydrolysis process upscales marine raw materials by gently transforming them into high value proteins and oils. Our latest purpose-built site in Hirtshals, Denmark, aims to expand our current production capacity which resides in Bergen, Norway, so we can better support brands that want to offer all the health benefits of Atlantic salmon via a highly nutritious food application for their customers.

Untapped market potential

With the popularity of salmon and its health benefits growing year-on-year, brands that are looking to tap into this market should act now. For instance, the annual Seafood Consumer Insight study conducted by the Norwegian Seafood Council, stated that salmon is now the world’s most popular fish, with 44% of respondents preferring salmon of Norwegian origin compared to 11% for Alaskan origin 5 . With consumer trust firmly positioned in our region, it is easy to see why biomega® and our latest innovation biomega® SalMe Peptides could be an excellent ingredient for your brand’s next human nutrition application.

Offering superb health benefits to consumers and a more neutral taste and smell, our biomega® SalMe peptides are now available in a powdered formulation, delivering both ease and stability during the manufacturing process. Since it is easy to digest and water soluble, the versatility of our peptides makes for excellent use in ready-to-mix sports or weight management drinks. In addition, they work superbly in healthy aging food and supplement applications thanks to the inclusion of collagen.

If your brand is looking to connect with a sustainable company that helps to preserve and protect our oceans, ensuring no raw material goes to waste, and delivers the highest quality salmon proteins and oils for your customers, biomega® may be your partner of choice.

For more information on how our products can be integrated into your food portfolio, contact our sales team today by emailing contact@biomegagroup.com .

References
 1. National Geographic, ‘Oceans need protection now’, March 2021.

  1. European Commission, ‘EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030’, May 2020.
  2. Norwegian Seafood Council, https://en.seafood.no/
  3. Life in Norway, ‘A Guide to Norwegian Salmon’, January 2021.
  4. Norwegian Seafood Council, ‘Norwegian Salmon: The world’s most popular fish’, May 2021