Processing instant jellyfish in Dien Chau

(Baonghean) - Our province has a coastline of more than 80 km, with great potential for exploiting and processing aquatic products, including baby jellyfish. However, the processing of jellyfish products still has many limitations.

Processing facilities are mainly spontaneous, only stopping at the preliminary processing stage, so the efficiency is not high. On the other hand, the production process has not treated wastewater well, affecting the environment and aquatic resources in the area. For the processing industry to bring economic efficiency, the application of processing procedures is necessary. One of the few reputable instant jellyfish processing facilities, whose products have been consumed in many places throughout the country, is Van Phan - Dien Chau Seafood Joint Stock Company.

We arrived at Dien Van commune (Dien Chau district) when it was past noon, the salty taste of the sea filled the air. We visited the processing workshop of Van Phan CPTS Company - Dien Chau when the workers were still working hard to deliver goods to customers tomorrow. Mr. Hoang Ngoc Lan - Workshop Manager, Project Manager "Support for building a model for processing instant commercial jellyfish in Dien Chau district" said: We were assigned by the Department of Science and Technology to implement the instant jellyfish processing project since November 2012, with a total capital of 1,275,680,000 VND, of which, from the science career budget is 499,700,000 VND and the Company's own capital is 775,980,000 VND. By November 2014, the project will end, however, for our company, production, processing and consumption of products will continue, because we have a consumer market in supermarkets as well as in markets in and outside the province.

Jellyfish processing factory at Van Phan CPTS Company - Dien Chau.

Through research, we learned that the project has received the transfer of the technical process of processing and preserving instant jellyfish products from Nam Dinh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company - Nam Dinh province with a scale of 20 tons of instant jellyfish/2 years. Up to now, after more than 1 year of implementing the project, Van Phan - Dien Chau CPTS Company has exported more than 14 tons of instant jellyfish products. One of the requirements of food products is that instant jellyfish products must ensure food hygiene and safety requirements. Therefore, the company has focused on investing in equipment to ensure production efficiency and food hygiene and safety, arranging a separate processing area from the residential area, office building. Tools and machinery all meet the requirements.

Ms. Vo Thi Thanh - a long-time technical staff of the processing factory said: The process of processing instant jellyfish includes 7 stages, including: selecting and pre-processing raw materials; shaping; washing, salting; heat treatment (blanching); soaking in solution (chili vinegar, garlic, ginger); packaging, vacuuming and preserving the product. Any production stage requires compliance with technical requirements and food hygiene and safety issues, so that the products leaving the factory always ensure quality and safety for users.

Labels and packaging are also factors that determine the value of goods. Packaging is a specialized plastic bag. The company has designed packaging labels according to standards, with a beautiful, eye-catching form and showing the characteristics of the Van Phan Instant Jellyfish brand. The packaging clearly states the production date and expiration date. In particular, the company has invested in purchasing a vacuum packaging machine for instant jellyfish products, ensuring clean products, longer preservation time and intact products during transportation.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Ha - a consumer in Vinh City said that the processed jellyfish products of Van Phan - Dien Chau CPTS Company are clean, without sand, naturally white, and have a mix of colors, combined with spices such as chili, garlic, ginger... The product has a characteristic aroma of jellyfish and spices, without the fishy smell of jellyfish. When eaten, it is crispy, the salty and sweet flavors are combined in a balanced way.

As a provincial-level science and technology project being implemented, the instant jellyfish processing model of Van Phan - Dien Chau CPTS Company focuses on popularizing the production process to the people. The company has cooperated with VTC Digital Television, Channel 16 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam to implement the Farmer Career Guidance program, instructing people on how to process instant jellyfish to expand a production method, contributing to increasing employment and income for coastal people.

Hong Anh