Today, fish fillets pin bone removal is a manual process that is labor intensive and can result in painful and permanent carpel tunnel injury for workers. Automated systems can only be used in post rigor mortis situations, and depending on the fish species. Existing solutions involve either labor intensive manual pin bone removal with tweezers, or automated machine removal, which causes significant bone breakage, as well as the difficulty of removal once rigor mortis has set in. There is therefore a clear market need for an automated tool that can be used on several species, including salmon and tilapia, in both pre-rigor and rigor conditions whether fresh or smoked.

This Pro Intech EVF technology was devised to improve the removal of pin bones from salmon fillets and other fish. It reduces pin bone breakage and flesh tearing, especially in processes of pre-rigor and post-rigor mortis; resulting in a final product with better quality and higher market value.

Technology

The EVF-3000 machine extracts pin bones from salmon and other fish fillets, and it is the unique machine that allows the removal of pre-rigor pin bones in Atlantic Salmon.
The EVF-3000 consists in a hand-held tool and an Electronic Controller.

The uniqueness of the EVF (Electronic Vibration Forces) technology is in the use of electronic monitoring to measure the firmness of the flesh and vibrations to loosen the bones if resistance is detected.

Current solutions are limited to specific species, and cannot be used in prerigor and rigor states.

EVF is the only tool that enables the producer to process fish in pre-rigor, rigor and post rigor, extracting up to 95% of pin bones with minimal bone breakage.

In manual operations, it reduces labor costs, and, for automated operations, it allows removal of the pin bones when rigor mortis has set in. In both cases, it provides an alternative for pin bone removal with minimum bone breakage.

Installation is simple and inexpensive and is a supplement to existing machines. EVF improves working conditions and reduces manual labor. Training is very simple, and there is an immediate payback, both in terms of efficiency and quality, both of which translate into economic benefits for the producer. In a US process plant (market), the payback of this technology is in less than 2 months.

An operator can do his work three times faster compared with a manual system. In the case of Tilapia the V Cut is eliminated, saving 4 to 10% of meat in a fillet.

EVF Benefits

Benefits that this technology provides include:

- EVF 3000 machine: productivity 200 fillet/hour
- Pre rigor mortis application.
- Direct cost savings, payback in 60 days.
- More quality in fillet, Less breakage
- Less meat loss.
- Improved worker conditions

Pro-Intech has a demo machine ready for International Commercialization Activities.

The unique EVF technology is currently protected by a US patent and EU patent. Other patents have been filed and are pending in Chile, Canada, Norway and Japan.