Fishermen Benefit: New Prawnfresh Distribution

Prawnfresh Plus is widely used in northern Europe and many other parts of the world as a safe and effective treatment to prevent the onset of melanotic blackening or blackspot in prawns or langoustines. Whilst blackspot is a harmless condition, it does affect the appearance of harvested prawns and shrimps, which in turn can make marketing difficult.

Sodium metabisulphite was traditionally used in the past as a treatment for blackspot, but if applied incorrectly, the fumes can trigger asthma attacks and other allergic reactions in processing operatives. It is also highly corrosive and can cause serious damage to processing and handling equipment, as well as steel flooring.

Now, leading Danish seafood processor, Royal Fish Denmark A/S, has set up a new company, Nord Frisk A/S, to distribute Prawnfresh Plus to the countrys fishermen and processors.

Royal Fish Denmark (RFD), along with fishermen in Gilleleje Havn and Bonnerup Harbor, have been using Prawnfresh Plus for the last 18 months, and according to RFD managing director Donald Kristensen, the results have been so impressive that it was decided to create a distribution company for the treatment.

We noticed a big improvement in the quality of our prawns when Royal Fish Denmark switched from sodium metabisulphite to Prawnfresh Plus, with the prawns holding much better colour, texture and overall freshness."

Our processing operatives much prefer using Prawnfresh Plus compared with metabisulphite, which can cause irritation to the eyes and breathing problems, and it has also brought to an end the expensive corrosive damage we used to encounter on processing equipment."

It is a much healthier additive for the consumer too. It, therefore, made sense for us to create a new company to distribute Prawnfresh Plus throughout Denmark on a much wider scale in a move that we believe will boost the countrys prawn sector.

Fishing vessels in the Danish port of Gilleleje are reporting excellent results after making the switch for Prawnfresh Plus. For example, the skippers of the Lis Nordahl (H151), Fru Hansen (H14) and Christina Mortensen (H29) have been using the treatment since June 2011 and have found it delivers much cleaner and nicer looking langoustines that keep their gloss and colour better.

In a joint statement the skippers, they said: The product is more pleasant to work with as it doesnt irritate the nose and eyes, and also it is more gentle to the production equipment. Because it is liquid it is easy to use and dose, and it doesnt take up much room, which is very important on a fishing vessel where space is very limited. We are very satisfied with the product.

John Davis, the managing director of Xyrex Ltd, the UK based manufacturer of Prawnfresh Plus, said: We are delighted that an increasing number of Danish fishermen and processors will now be able to reap the benefits of using Prawnfresh Plus as a safe and effective treatment to prevent the onset of melanosis.