Tri Marine Gets Solomons’ Canned Tuna USFDA Approvedff

Solomon Islands’ canned tuna will soon be on shelves in American retail outlets after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an export certificate to local tuna processing firm Soltai Fishing & Processing Company.

The Solomon Islands government-owned company made the breakthrough after it agreed to a strategic alliance with global tuna products company Tri Marine International Limited.

Tri Marine quality specialists played a pivotal role in getting the FDA approval for Soltai to export canned tuna to the U.S.

Soltai board chairman Fred Seda broke the news of the company’s new export market on Monday at the inauguration of an extension to the company’s cannery in Noro, Western Province.

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare and TriMarine International chief executive Joe Hamby opened the new facility.

Speaking at the opening, Seda said a loan arrangement with the ANZ Bank enabled the company to upgrade the cannery’s existing equipment, which included a new fish mill and a 2000-tonne cold storage area.

“This new investment is the launching pad from which Soltai will take off into the big market beyond our shores. It opens up the potential opportunities for Soltai to penetrate the large markets of Europe and the US,” Seda said in a statement.

Soltai’s current European markets include Italy and Spain and plans are in place to include Germany and France.

Appealing to the government to release funding to support the company’s further expansion, Seda said revenue from canned tuna exports will increase the country’s foreign exchange and boost employment in the private sector.

Soltai is the only company in the Solomon Islands that currently produces canned tuna products, tuna loins, smoked tuna (arabushi) and fishmeal from its shore-base facilities at Noro for export.

Soltai’s FDA certification comes close to a year after TriMarine signed an agreement with the Solomon Islands company to supply it with the necessary equipment to process tuna into catering sized cans for the European market.