New fish snacks compete in the market. (Photo: Terje Engoe)

Fish snacks are increasing rapidly in popularity

THAILAND
Friday, May 04, 2012, 15:30 (GMT + 9)

Some time ago, Kystmagasinet magazine reported that new fish snack products based on salmon skins have been launched. As such products have become increasingly popular in Asia, another Thai company has now focused on these types of snacks.

Piti Sakol Fishery Company Limited, which processes filleted local and imported fish including salmon, has introduced both fish skin chips and dried fish fillet that can be consumed as snacks.

Currently, salmon skin is the most popular raw material among processing plants and added to that fact that in many Asian countries consumers are becoming more and more aware of the health benefits of consuming Omega-3 acids have contributed to the popularity of these snacks.

One of the species being filleted at the Thai plant is tilapia. Small tilapia fillets have low value and are difficult to sell even though some manufacturers use them in the production of fish stuffing.

Piti Sakol Fishery decided to process skinless small fillets in palm oil with the addition of spices. Then this product is dried and placed in environmentally-friendly packaging. A 60 gram packet is sold for a price ranging from THB 65 to THB 85 (Euro 1.6 to Euro 2) in stores.

The skin from the fillets are treated in the same way and is sold in 20 gram packets for THB 17 (Euro 0.4).

The raw material to process both fish fillets and fish skin chips has a market price of around THB 6 to THB 10 (Euro 0.15 to Euro 0.25) per kilo. The refining process reduces the weight by around 80 per cent.
 

Source: Kystmagasinet /Terje Engø

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