Safety, Product Development Are Priorities for Seafood Industry

“We ran the skins through an extruder and it transformed them under high pressure and temperature, turning the collagen in the skin into gummy bear texture,” Sannito says. “We added a few additional ingredients to achieve the desired consistency and bind up the moisture.”

With an endless array of possible product shapes available with extrusion, Sannito opted for turning the pollock skins into a green rope (similar to licorice in appearance) and then cutting it into bite-sized pieces. While experimenting with natural and artificial red and blue food colors, during his day at the pilot plant, he decided the natural Army green was the best.

“The natural green color seemed healthier and we wanted clean labels showcasing a wholesome product,” Sannito explains. “We fully realize pet owners read food labels for their dogs like they do for themselves. Our ultimate goal is to produce a high-quality product that is safe for pets to eat, shelf stable, and enticing for humans to purchase.”

Sannito mentions that, under vacuum packaging and storage at 86 degrees Fahrenheit, the extruded pollock treats remain stable for at least 180 days.

In May 2017, Sannito and Quentin Fong, PhD, Alaska Sea Grant’s seafood marketing specialist, received the 2017 Invent Alaska award for “innovation in research leading to commercialization” from the UAF Fairbanks Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization. This award came at the end of the initial phase of the pet treats project, Sannito says.

“In 2018, a new funding opportunity came through with the UAF Center Ice Seed Fund,” Sannito mentions. “This award is making a seed fund of $24,800 available to move the pollock pet treats forward from the experimental stage to the commercial market.”

To that end, Sannito and his longtime friend and business collaborator, Jerry Pupillo, MS, a marketing consultant based in Hawaii, are currently pursuing industry partners to develop the pollock co-product for wholesale and retail sales.

According to Sannito, some pet food companies already make pet treats with fish components. “While some pet treat manufacturers have begun to utilize fish meal and fish oil as ingredients, our treats stand out because we are specifically incorporating fish skins into our product to take advantage of the unique functional properties of fish collagen found in fish skins,” he explains. “These properties give our pet treat product some unique characteristics and nutritional benefits that we believe make them very appealing to dogs and their owners.”

Sannito adds that the skin of cod or any white fish would work well for extruded pet treats. (Salmon skins pose challenges due to their oil content and scales.) “Any coastal community is awash in fish skins wherever they process a large amount of skinless, boneless filets,” Sannito points out.

“The pollock treats are not fishy smelling to humans, but they have plenty of that deep-sea essence dogs love so much,” Sannito relates. “They also seem to be easily digestible by canines based on early trials.”