Twin win for fishmeal producer

The decision was announced at the marine ingredients organisation’s 56th Annual Conference, which closed yesterday after three successful days of discussions with 418 delegates from 43 countries.

The award had previously been split into two categories with TASA submitting substantial applications for both. It proved exceptionally difficult to decide which of the many impressive applications deserved to win the awards. After a vote, the majority of the board members agreed that TASA should win both the Leadership and Innovation Awards.

At the Conference's Gala Dinner, Mike Copeland, President of IFFO, congratulated all the applicants for their hard work and presented the award to Humberto Speziani, Director of TASA.

Research proves key

TASA’s strong focus on R&D won the Board’s approval for the Leadership part of the award. In December 2015, TASA and the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, jointly won the "Basic research projects and Applied research projects” competition organized by the National Council of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC), to develop the project entitled: "Evaluation of the effect of oral administration of collagen peptides of anchovy on bone metabolism and the mechanism of tissue scarring in ovariectomised animals", which is currently under development.

The development of collagen peptides is intended to produce a product that meets chemical and functional properties required by the market and that also constitutes a safe and effective treatment to combat osteoporosis and skin alterations generated by the loss of oestrogens in the post-menopausal period. The product will provide added value and at the same time allow the population to benefit directly from the utilization of this natural resource.

Promoting fish consumption

For the innovation part of the award, TASA won for their SUMAQ project Businesswomen of Huanta. Started in 2015, the project is combined effort through a public-private alliance between TASA, the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, the Ministry of Production, the District Municipality of Huanta- Ayacucho and SANIPES, with the Fundación Acción Contra el Hambre as operator. The purpose of the SUMAQ Project is to increase the availability and consumption of fish in families of the districts of Huanta, in the Region of Ayacucho, south of Peru, through the promotion of business enterprise, technological innovation and community awareness actions to encourage good practices of healthy nutrition.

To ensure a balanced and fair vote, Board members from the companies selected excused themselves from the vote. The winner was judged on the degrees of change or positive impact that were achieved. It was mistakenly noted in a previous release that TASA had only been selected for the Innovation award, they were selected for both.

Reflecting on the conference, Andrew Mallison, IFFO Director General, said: “Such an impressive example of success has provided the perfect closing celebration to another effective IFFO Annual Conference. Over these last three days, we have addressed some of our industry’s greatest challenges, analysed new technological opportunities, and looked at market trends to better prepare our members for the coming years. But most importantly, after over 50 years of meeting, this group of old and new friends have gathered once again to strengthen business ties and work together as a cohesive community.”