Senegal is a major producer of fish; after agriculture, the fishing industry is the most important economic sector of the West African country. What is important in the packaging of fish?
What principles need to be taken into account to package a hygienic, non-contaminated product there – also under conditions that do not necessarily correspond to Euro-pean standards? And what solutions does Multivac provide specifically for the fishing industry? At the beginning of November, these questions were examined by a group of visitors from Senegal in a one-day seminar at Multivac. In the run-up to the second German-Senegalese Economic Summit, which was held in Düssel-dorf on Nov. 7, Senegalese government employees and rep-resentatives from the African fishing industry and other food areas took the opportunity for a factory visit in Wolfertschwenden.
“We have wide-ranging expertise with respect to packaging of fishing products,” explains Christian Traumann, CFO at Multivac. “Our development of packaging solutions for the fishing industry also includes extensive consulting to fishery producers. In this context, we clarify issues including the desired durability and the target markets of the products. Through our packaging solutions, we try to ensure that a natural product can be packaged so that it remains natural. But that presupposes that all steps between fishing and packaging are carefully planned, that is, refrigeration and the design of the spaces in which the fish is processed, but also several hygiene principles.”
The organization of the workshop was initiated by SenGermany eV, an association dedicated to the development of the cultural, social and economic relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Senegal. In addition to a tour of the plant, presentations and discussions on “Packaging of Fish and Hygiene” and “Marketing & Trends” were on the program. In a machine demonstration at the Multivac Training & Innovation Center, the participants were able to learn firsthand how the packaging procedure of food is carried out on the different types of machines – from chamber machines and thermoforming packaging machines to traysealers. The visitors also were interested in the development of new packaging solutions – especially for their projects – and the service that Multivac can offer in this regard. During a tour through the innovation center, they learned how Multivac supports customers in the complete development process of new packaging solutions.The possibilities for model package crea-tion and food and packaging analysis clearly impressed the guests.
"The participants of the seminar today are hooked,"says Ibrahim Guèye of SenGermany eV. "They can well imag-ine purchasing Multivac machines themselves or promoting the pur-chase of packaging solutions in future. In general we hope that Multivac will support us in future also in the training of technicians in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, who are familiar with the servicing of machines."
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