Pinbone removal in pre-rigor salmon

Current systems for automatic processing of salmon are not able to remove all bones from freshly slaughtered salmon. The fillet is damaged or the bones broken if the bones are pulled out without “maturing” the fish for several days. This means a reduction of both shelf life and quality of the final product.

SINTEF has participated in developing a camera based system for determining the bones positions in the tissue. This enables real-time motion control of a dedicated pinbone removal system, which removes the pinbone robustly with no or minimal flesh damage. This allows for production of fresh, filleted salmon, opening up new markets for the salmon industry.

This work was done for Trio Food Processing Machinery AS in cooperation with SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture AS.