Into the Mist

In today’s fast-paced world, the seafood industry is constantly facing new challenges when it comes to ensuring the safety and quality of products. Foodborne illness is a major concern and can result in significant financial losses and damage to a company’s reputation. This is where ALVAR ’s mist disinfection system comes in, offering safety, quality and sustainability to seafood producers with a fast, safe and cost-effective methodology.

Headquartered in Kópavogur, Iceland, ALVAR has been providing disinfection systems to clients in Iceland, Europe and North America for decades. With a strong foothold in the food industry in Iceland and Poland, the company continues to expand its activities to new markets, making it the ideal choice for seafood producers looking to secure sanitation, hygiene and quality in their production.

“Our mission is to provide advanced, efficient solutions to reduce production and reputational risks, increase food safety and reduce waste of water and chemicals,” says Guðmundur Sigþórsson, CEO at ALVAR . “Our customers have seen bacteria count drop dramatically after the installation of our systems. This minimizes the possibility of bacteria outbreaks and food contamination and greatly reduces production and reputational risks.”

Designed to replace the traditional methods of disinfection in the seafood industry, ALVAR ’s systems create a dense disinfection mist that envelops, infiltrates, penetrates, and attacks harmful microbes, resulting in a significant reduction in the use of water and chemicals. The range of mist systems includes a central solution that protects the whole production line, a solution to combat bacteria inside enclosed machinery, a solution to fight bacteria in pipes, tanks and pumps and a manual system to directly target and fight bacteria.

ALVAR ’s Mist Core, Mist Focus, Mist Canal, and Mist Direct sanitize and disinfect production areas and provide a comprehensive defense against microbial contaminants. The aim is to ensure the safety and quality of the end product in the production process. “The mist, which is compatible with most disinfectants, has the ability to effectively penetrate and eliminate bacteria in hard-to-reach places such as beneath surfaces and in the crevices between machinery,” explains Sigþórsson. “Unlike conventional disinfection techniques, the mist also sanitizes the air above the production area, preventing contamination from bacteria in the air.”

Given the fact that seafood products are highly perishable and can easily become contaminated if proper measures are not taken, it is important for produces to maintain rigorous cleaning, hygiene and sanitation protocols to safeguard their production. The ALVAR Mist system can be installed both onboard fishing vessels and onshore processing plants. “Our solutions are in operation in a range of facilities, vessels and fish processing equipment,” says Sigþórsson. “Our clients have reported improved product quality and reduced bacterial counts, making it easier to keep production facilities clean.”

According to Sigþórsson, the company has had great cooperation with their clients, which have reported a beneficial balance between cost effectiveness and sustainability. The objective for every customer is to have a hygiene plan in place that brings all of their operations under full anti-microbial control, lowers water consumption and biocides in the disinfection process and maintains a hygienic, safe production environment.

The seafood industry is not immune to the challenges of food safety, and companies affected by bacteria outbreaks are often forced to throw away part of their production, resulting in a loss of earnings and a significant impact on their reputation. “Food safety is a critical issue in the seafood industry and it is crucial for the well-being of consumers,” says Sigþórsson. “Our goal is to improve efficiency, facilitate cost savings and help seafood processors enhance their food safety measures to preserve the quality of their end product.”

Rigorously tested in leading Icelandic fisheries companies, the Mist technology effectively eliminates harmful bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms that can contaminate seafood during processing. Over the years Samherji, one of Iceland’s largest seafood companies, has installed 20 Mist systems both on board their new vessels and at their high-tech processing facilities. Another Icelandic fish processing giant, Síldarvinnslan, invested in the ALVAR Mist Core system after extensive testing and has reported great results. According to the company, the ALVAR system has helped them achieve a bacteria-free environment, which has improved their product quality and safety.

Traditional disinfection methods used in the seafood industry often consume a large amount of water and chemicals, which can have adverse effects on the environment. Alvar’s Mist system provides a solution to these challenges, delivering hygiene, safety and quality to its customers. Not only does the system provide a more sustainable and ecofriendly solution, but it also offers cost savings to food producers with 90% water savings, 70% chemical savings and 100% labor savings.

Mist Core is a central solution that disinfects the whole production line.

ALVAR ’s system is automated and requires no manual labor, reducing labor costs during disinfection and freeing up resources for other essential tasks such as production and quality control.

ALVAR ’s Mist technology has had a significant impact in reducing production and reputational risks, increasing food safety, and reducing waste of water and chemicals for its users. This not only benefits the companies, but also the environment and the consumers by providing safe and high-quality seafood products while contributing to the preservation of the planet.

Lately, Icelandic salmon producers have turned to the Mist disinfection systems for a safer production process. Eðalfiskur was the first to install the system in September 2020 and has since reported easier and less time-consuming cleaning processes. In addition to these benefits, the company also confirmed that the Mist system has greatly contributed to the safety of salmon production.

Following in Eðalfiskur’s footsteps, Arnarlax began using ALVAR ’s system in October 2020 and also reported excellent results. The system proved effective in combating Listeria and lowering all ATP numbers, enabling the company to monitor potential Listeria infections. Other salmon processors have also recognized the value of the Mist disinfection system in maintaining microbiological purity in salmon processing plants. BK Salmon recommended the system as an innovative solution, praising its high efficiency in preserving microbiological purity while also being cost-effective in terms of water consumption and biocides.

“Our clients confirm the effectiveness of our systems onboard fishing vessels, in production facilities and within enclosed production machinery,” says Sigþórsson. “We have a long list of satisfied clients around the world, all of whom have benefited from the efficiency and effectiveness of our disinfection technology.”

Thai Union has confirmed the ALVAR cleaning system’s high effectiveness in reducing microbiological count and conserving water during cleaning and disinfection at their processing facility. Royal Greenland is another satisfied client, reporting significant improvement in cleaning performance and a marked reduction in microbiological count since implementing the ALVAR system.

The company’s exceptional work in this area earned them a research and development grant from the Icelandic Technology Development Fund in 2021. The grant is being utilized to support the development of an automatic equipment system designed to sterilize food transport containers.

ALVAR was awarded the Innovation Award in the “Processing Sector Value Creation, Small Company” category at the Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition in May 2022 for their latest product, Mist Focus. This innovative solution, which was developed and released in 2022, is a compact system that offers effective disinfection of small, enclosed areas such as water cutting machines and other equipment that are challenging to clean and sanitize.

“Our research and development approach is centered around maintaining the quality of our products and proactively addressing the challenges that our clients may encounter,” states Sigþórsson. “In recognition of our dedication, we were awarded the Innovation award and the Icelandic Ocean Cluster award last year. Such awards and grants serve as encouragement, as they bolster our R&D department and motivate us in continuing to deliver the best possible disinfection technology for the food industry.”

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