Kings Infra Ventures Limited Signs Agreement with ICAR-CIFT for Technology Licence to Make Ready-to-Eat/Serve Fish Products and Modified Method of Chitin Production/Alternative Materials for Chitin Production

Kings Infra Ventures Ltd. has signed a pact with the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (ICAR-CIFT) on Monday, 22nd August, 2022 for developing ready-to-eat and ready-to-serve fish products by adopting steam or water immersion technology capable of achieving very long shelf life under normal room temperature, without using any chemical additives or preservatives. Safe food products with very long shelf life in ambient storage conditions in accordance with the stipulations of the US FDA and other regulatory agencies would be the focus of the project.

The innovative project would also help in providing an opportunity for optimising ingredients, processing and heating conditions of the region-specific ethnic dishes, said Shaji Baby John Chairman and Managing Director of Kings Infra. Elimination of the need for special storage temperature is the main advantage of the project, he added. The ready-to-eat/serve delicacies would be packed either in metal cans or retortable pouches.

Commenting on the venture, CIFT Director Mrs. Leena Edwin lauded Kings Infra for taking the initiative for commercial utilisation of the technology. "We have developed several such innovative technologies that could act as catalysts for improving the value creation in the seafood sector. We hope to have a long-term partnership with Kings Infra in many other areas," she added.

The two entities would also collaborate on a project on a modified method of Chitin and Chitosan production of shrimp shells and shrimps which are normally thrown away as waste material. The modified technology developed by ICAR-CIFT uses a specially designed machine which reduces chemical usage in the production of Chitin/Chitosan making the process more sustainable. The process helps in improving the quality of chitin and chitosan at a reduced cost. The effluent treatment cost is also reduced due to the cutting down in chemical usage. The protein separated can be used for many products including feed and other bio active molecules.

Mr. Shaji Baby John and Senior Management team of Kings Infra and Head of Departments and Scientists from CIFT attended the Technology Licence Agreement signing ceremony held at CIFT headquarters in Kochi.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Institute of Fisheries Technology

ICAR-CIFT is a technology Institute in India, under ICAR, which caters to the entire spectrum of fisheries from harvest to post-harvest operations. The Institute provides technologies and services to the fishing and fish processing industries in the areas of craft and gear, processing including products development, packaging and waste utilisation, nutrition, microbiology and biotechnology, engineering, quality assurance and socio-economics and extension. Headquartered in Kochi, Kerala CIFT has been at the forefront of developing many cutting edge research projects and product development including Chitosan, development of nano sensors for precision aquaculture, rapid testing platforms, valorization of marine and agro-waste and SMARK PACK initiative.

About Technology Transfer

ICAR-CIFT has developed technologies - Modified method of chitin production/alternative chemicals for chitin production and Ready-to-eat/ serve fishery products in metal cans and retortable pouches.

The 'Modified method of chitin production/alternative chemicals for chitin production has a specially designed machine which is used to remove the protein content from the shell before adding chemicals. Hence the improved process requires less chemical use. This in turn improves the chitin and chitosan quality and incur less cost for the process. The effluent quality also improves resulting in less cost for ETP. The protein separated can be used for many products including feed and other bio active molecules.

The technology for Ready-to-eat/serve fishery products in metal cans and retortable Pouches' can be optimised for achieving very long shelf life under normal room temperature storage without use of any chemical additives or preservatives. The region-specific ethnic products can be optimised for ingredients, processing and heating conditions to achieve desired safety and consumer acceptability by following approved guidelines as per US FDA or any other regulatory agency to produce safe food products with very long shelf life. No special storage temperature is needed and products can be stored at ambient storage conditions.

Kings Infra Ventures Limited

Kings Infra Ventures Limited, a pioneer in Indias seafood and aquaculture industry was originally registered as "Victory Aqua Farm Limited. Kings Infra under the leadership of its Chairman & Managing Director, Mr. Shaji Baby John has several diversified projects with a keen interest in translation of Research & Development to commercial enterprise.

The Company is operating a seafood export processing plant with capacity of 3000 tonnes per annum and aquaculture farm in 100 acres of land located at Thoothukudi in coastal Tamil Nadu, and currently expanding its processing activities to Kerala.

The Company has developed 'SISTA360' protocols and harvested 80 grams size 'Vannamei' shrimps in January 2022, which is a world record in pond based 'Vannamei' culture.

The Company is focused on farm to fork integration in the aquaculture and seafood industry. As a part of this initiative, Kings Infra is starting commercial production of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat fishery products aimed at the domestic and international market.

The Company will also take up the conversion of shrimp head, shells and other leftovers into value added products namely Chitin, Chitosan and other products which have very high potential in various applications in food processing, organic fertilisers and nutraceuticals The Company is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange with total floating equity of Rs. 235 Million.