Vilsund Blue's organic mussels with garlic and parsley are in the finals of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards 2016.

Full Speed Ahead for Danish Organic Aquaculture

In recent years organic aquaculture has been rapidly on the rise in Denmark, and this trend is continuing with new products and ever-growing production levels.

Since 2014, this small Nordic country has been Europe's leading producer of organic trout, with a production capacity of around 1,100 tons per year and exports to a number of countries.

The organic mussels are cultivated on ropes in the clean waters of the Danish fjords.

At the same time, the clean Danish fjords provide ideal conditions for the annual production of over 2,000 tons of organic rope-grown mussels. The biggest Danish mussels producer is Vilsund Blue, which is now significantly expanding its organic production and, for the first time, launching two ready meals with organic shellfish on the European market. As a result, Vilsund Blue now has a chance of winning the prestigious Seafood Excellence Global Awards for the second time.

The Vilsund Blue A/S Limfjord rope-grown mussel fishery has MSC certification for sustainable and well-managed fisheries.

"We are currently expanding our existing organic production capacity of about 1,300 tons per year by more than 20 percent," says Søren Mattesen, Managing Director of Vilsund Blue, "and at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels from 26-28 April, we will be presenting two vacuum-packed, one hundred percent organic ready meals with pre-cooked mussels; one with mussels in tomato sauce, and the other with mussels in garlic and parsley."

Mussels in brine.

Consumers just need to heat up one of the ready meals for a few minutes in a pot or microwave oven, and they will have a delicious meal ready. Søren Mattesen expects the new products to find a market in the UK, Germany and France, but other countries may also be interesting markets.

The variant with garlic and parsley has brought Vilsund Blue into the finals of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards 2016 - the contest that has replaced the Seafood Prix d'Elite, which Vilsund won with another product in 2014, and was several times in the finals.

Senior Consultant Villy J. Larsen of the trade association Dansk Akvakultur (Danish Aquaculture) is pleased with the development.

"Every second organic trout raised in Europe already comes from a freshwater fish farm or marine farm in Denmark," he says, "and with Vilsund Blue's expansion of its production and its innovative products, Denmark is now also among the world leaders in organic mussels."

Over the years the company has grown into a major company in the mussels business and is now delivering fresh, preserved and frozen products to all of the European markets.

Danish aquaculture producers are operating in a society that is very positive towards ecology. Certified organic products account for 7.6 percent of total food sales in Denmark, which is a world record.

The mussels are cooked and frozen in Vilsund Blue's cooking facility which is approved by the BRC. And at the preserve factory at Ørodde the mussels are cooked and put into jars and tins.

About Vilsund Blue a/s

Vilsund Blue was founded in 1986, and has since the beginning been dedicating its effort to produce high quality products from Danish waters.

In 2010 Vilsund Blue a/s acquired the Limfjord company a/s and merged the two companies into one of the leading mussel producers in Europe. As the first mussel fishery in the world the boats supplying Vilsund Blue a/s in 2010 received the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification for sustainable fishery.

Source: Dansk Akvakultur

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