NORWAY
Pharma Marine
Cod liver oil for everyday kitchen use The feature in the last edition of the EuroďŹ sh Magazine (December 2016) on the Blue Legasea project in Ă…lesund, Norway, an undertaking that brings together companies interested in exploiting marine biomass to produce a range of sustainable, high-value, and healthful products, continues in this issue with brief proďŹ les on three companies, Pharma Marine, Rimfrost, and Vedde (Triple Nine Group).
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od liver oil! Generations of older people probably remember with horror the obligatory daily spoonful of this foul-tasting liquid – healthy or not. Pharma Marine, another company from the Legasea group, has taken up the cause of this ancient tradition, freed the cod liver oil of its unpleasant aromas and flavours, and thus moved a product classic that has belonged to Scandinavia since time immemorial into the present-day diet. Leif Kjetil Gjendemsjø, the founder and CEO of Pharma Marine, is convinced that his tasteless cod liver oil will soon be as selfevident in the kitchens and on the tables of modern, nutritionconscious consumers as the jug of olive oil. “Our CodMarine oils are extracted from cod livers in the best quality. The fish comes mainly from the stock in the Arctic Barents Sea and is fished exclusively for food as part of sustainable MSC-certified and environmentally friendly fishing. This ensures optimum handling and outstanding qualityâ€?. Scientific studies have proven dozens of times that the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA are essential to life and contribute towards improving health and well-being. “With our CodMarine product line we can significantly improve the supply of these essential fatty acids,â€? says Gjendemsjø. “They enable consumers to meet their daily 54
requirements of EPA and DHA even if they don’t like fish or have no access to these valuable foods.â€? The nearly tasteless cod liver oil can, like any other edible oil, be used for salads, mayonnaises, marinades and other cold dishes. To make its use easier, Pharma Marine has developed a small series of products in which the cod liver oil is flavoured by adding herbs or virgin olive oil. Mindor Klauset, a professional chef in Ă…lesund, has tested the product range and was surprised by the result: “The use of cod liver oil for salads and other cold food was totally new for me, but it actually works and, indeed, it works remarkably well. The neutral flavour of CodMarine-oil opens up new possibilities in the kitchen and also offers people who don’t like fish the chance to meet their omega-3 requirements in a simple and natural way." Pharma Marine’s CodMarine line is the first Norwegian omega-3 concentrate to be certified by MSC. The company works with fishing vessels that operate in the Barents Sea and extract the oil from the livers of freshly caught cod at sea. Packed under exclusion of oxygen in airtight barrels it is taken to the modern and environmentally friendly production facility Søvik on the west coast of Norway, cleaned, further processed and packaged in different ways.
CEO Leif Kjetil Gjendemsjø. The CodMarine products enable consumers to meet their daily requirements of EPA and DHA.
Pharma Marine has developed a whole series of products in which the cod liver oil is “flavoured“ by adding herbs or virgin olive oil.
Leif Kjetil Gjendemsjø hopes his innovative omega-3 products, which pick up on the rich traditions of Norway in this area, will improve many people’s quality of life. “CodMarine is the
brand name for cod liver oil products but beyond that we have the CalaMarine brand for squid oil and LipidMarine for other fish oils as well as a range of other healthy products�.
www.eurofishmagazine.com
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