San Francisco-based Global Fresh Foods today made good on its promise to send non-frozen fish products overseas, shipping salmon from Chile to Japan for the first time.
The company made headlines when it announced it had developed a a fuel-cell based oxygen management system to remove oxygen from seafood shipments. Global Fresh officials said the process allows fish to be shipped by boat without the use of ice or polystyrene packaging. Today's shipment, the company said in a release, represents the first commercial shipment using the new technology. The salmon is expected to travel up to 33 days from the company’s facility in Talcahuano, Chile to Tokyo for sale in the Tsukiji Fish Market.
"We have been working with our partners in Japan to completely transform what is now a largely frozen trade route for Chilean salmon into a market for fresh fish,” said Mark Barnekow, chief executive officer of Global Fresh Foods.
