UK – Morrisons, the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom, has opened its US$13.98m facility in UK with a capability to of individually achieve a quick freezing up to 180 tonnes of sardines and other varieties of fish per day.
The opening of the facility, which also feature a tunnel that can freeze 112,000 fish per hour, represents the “largest single investment made in Cornish shoresides in a generation” and received £3.8m in funding from Defra through its UK Seafood Infrastructure Fund.
More than half of the fresh food sold in Morrisons stores is prepared and manufactured by Myton, with the new facility allowing for fresh fish to be frozen and packed in just an hour.
Myton managing director Andrew Thornber said, “Over 80% of the fish and shellfish sold in Morrisons stores comes from our seafood operations in Cornwall, where we buy directly from local fishermen.”
“Opening the UK’s largest fish freezing centre not only strengthens our position as one of Britain’s biggest food makers but also significantly grows our seafood export business.”
Morrisons is also conducting trials in its 10 stores for raising the temperature of its freezers by 3oC to depart from a long-held industry standard, to save energy and money.
The Bradford-based chain said it would increase the temperature on appliances in 10 of its stores to -15C from -18C, the industry standard set almost 100 years ago and left unchanged.
Morrisons said the cost savings could help it keep down prices for shoppers and contribute to its ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions from its own operations by 2035.
Pressure is mounting on food industry and retail sector for an industry shift to sustainable practices when conducting their business.
A report for the Cop28 climate crisis conference last year, by academics at the University of Birmingham and Heriot-Watt University, forecast that an increase of just 3C in freezer temperatures across global supply chains could save the equivalent of 8.6% of the energy consumed in the UK and reduce carbon emissions equivalent to taking 3.8m cars off the road.
Moreover, a recently published 18-month study by the owner of Birds Eye, Nomad Foods, with the food science and technology organisation Campden BRI, found turning freezers to -15C from -18C can reduce energy consumption by between 10% and 11%, without any noticeable impact on the safety, texture, taste or nutritional value of food.
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