Using the ocean as a "pen", he brings the "taste of the sea" into thousands of households

Yellow croaker, sea bass, crucian carp... no matter what kind of fish it is, the fish that symbolizes "abundance every year" will definitely appear on the New Year's Eve dinner table on time. Can you imagine? People inland can also eat sea fish from Zhoushan, Zhejiang, and the fish meat is fresh and tender, not inferior to the fish caught on the same day, which makes people enjoy a feast.

All this is due to the establishment of the Doctoral Innovation Station of China Aquaculture Zhoushan Ocean Fishery Co., Ltd. The addition of the doctoral team provides key support for the company's technology upgrade and product innovation, especially in the development of new products such as marine pre-prepared dishes and fresh-keeping technology, the company has made considerable breakthroughs.

This is a vivid epitome of the doctoral innovation station of Zhejiang Ocean University exploring the deep integration of industry, academia and research in Zhejiang. Recently, Chao News reporters visited several doctoral innovation stations of Zhejiang Ocean University to see the innovative vitality brought by the "two-way rush" of enterprises and doctors.

Technology brings the "taste of the sea" into every household

Doctoral achievements "embedded" in enterprise production lines

High calcium marine shrimp chips, photo provided by the interviewee

What does the “taste of the sea” smell like? As soon as you open the shrimp cracker package, the fresh aroma hits you in the face, and the answer is self-evident. Take a bite of the shrimp crackers, and they are crispy and crunchy.

Miao Wenhua, a doctoral student at the Doctoral Innovation Station of Zhejiang Guansutang Food Co., Ltd., told reporters that this is a high-calcium marine shrimp chip that they recently researched. In addition to being crispy, the biggest feature of this shrimp chip is its high calcium content. Miao Wenhua said that people nowadays are not only pursuing "eating enough", but also "eating well" and "eating healthily". Traditional shrimp chips are mostly made of starch, but this one has been innovatively added with the concept of high calcium, which makes traditional snacks healthier and meets people's needs.

How do shrimp chips have high calcium content? The team came up with a clever idea, which is to add crushed tuna bones with high calcium content to the shrimp chips. "Here we mainly solved a key technology, which is to remove the fishy smell. Tuna bones will inevitably have a fishy smell, but we only spent about a year on technical research. Our product has a good taste and is pure natural high calcium without additives, which is very popular in the market." Miao Wenhua said.

With the technology and capabilities in hand, these doctors are now "joining hands" with enterprises to "embed" scientific and technological achievements into production lines, greatly upgrading products.

At the Doctoral Innovation Station of Zhejiang Henghe Food Co., Ltd., Dr. Jiang Wei had a similar experience. He took advantage of the technology and innovatively introduced low-temperature vacuum frying technology to seafood, solving the company's problems in aquatic product processing.

"In the past, aquatic products had to be fried at a high temperature of 200°C, but this would destroy nutrients and produce harmful substances. Now, the frying temperature only needs to be 85°C, and the nutritional value and color can be better, and it has now been put on the market." Jiang Wei introduced. Fried foods that were considered unhealthy by many people have been transformed into both healthy and delicious.

Zhoushan old brand joins hands with Doctoral Innovation Station

Talents and enterprises "run in both directions"

Before joining the Doctoral Innovation Station, Jiang Wei was troubled by taking a detour. "We are engaged in food processing, and we feel that the products we have researched are very good, with good color, fragrance and taste, and will definitely sell well, but when we put them into the enterprise, they just can't be sold!"

Lack of practice and platform are often the difficulties faced by young scientific and technological talents. Jiang Wei said frankly that enterprises are market-oriented and have higher commercial sensitivity, but researchers like himself do not understand this well enough, and the "good things" in the laboratory often cannot be transformed into "good products" of the enterprise.

Now that the doctoral innovation station has been established, scientific research is no longer about papers and patents floating in the ivory tower. "Every time a new person joins the team, I require them to go to the enterprise and understand what the enterprise is doing and what it needs." Jiang Wei said that the team has always attached great importance to transforming science into productivity, complementing theory and practice, and "walking on two legs."

Mingzhu brand under China Aquatic Products Zhoushan Marine Fishery Co., Ltd. is Zhoushan’s “national” marine leisure food brand. As a well-established state-owned enterprise with a history of more than 70 years, it has a solid foundation. Why does it still need a doctoral innovation station?

It is not easy for old state-owned enterprises to rejuvenate. "If you don't eliminate something that has never been innovative, consumers will eliminate it," said Chen Yunyun, R&D manager of China Aquaculture Zhoushan Marine Fishery Co., Ltd.

"Thanks to Director Xiaojun for leading us! From product classification to inspection methods, to packaging and transportation, we are the first in the country to formulate squid grade specifications." The "Director Xiaojun" mentioned by Chen Yunyun is Zhang Xiaojun, the doctor who established the doctoral innovation station of the enterprise. So far, Zhang Xiaojun's team has provided services to enterprises more than 60 times and solved more than 10 technical problems of enterprises.

There is a demand for PhDs, and so do enterprises. As a doctoral innovation station that stimulates the respective advantages of the three major innovation entities of enterprises, universities, and talents, it has become a communication channel between universities, research institutes, and corporate talents, bringing the integration of industry, academia, and research to a new level.

Standing on the vast ocean

Helping write a new chapter in the blue economy

Since the launch of the doctoral innovation station in 2022, Zhejiang Ocean University has had 16 doctoral innovation stations, including 5 provincial ones, and most of them are "doing things" in the ocean.

Wu Chuanyu, president and deputy party secretary of Zhejiang Ocean University, said: "Zhejiang Ocean University focuses on applied disciplines, and more than 80% of its disciplines are closely related to the marine industry. The various doctoral innovation stations established by Zhejiang Ocean University give full play to the professional characteristics of seafood processing in enterprises, and truly develop new quality productivity in accordance with local conditions."

Taking the Doctoral Innovation Station of China Aquaculture Zhoushan Ocean Fishery Co., Ltd. as an example, Zhang Xiaojun's team and the company jointly cultivated the sub-brand of Mingzhu, Zhouyuchuanshuo, which mainly focuses on pre-prepared seafood dishes. "This is the squid we developed, and there are also pomfret, hairtail... These are all products of the new brand Zhouyuchuanshuo." Zhang Xiaojun showed the pre-prepared seafood dishes in his hand, listing them like treasures.

Zhang Xiaojun (second from left) is introducing the prepared seafood dishes in his hand. Photo by Shen Jiadi

In recent years, pre-prepared meals have become a hot topic in the catering industry. They can be eaten immediately after purchase, which is convenient and fast. However, there were few pre-prepared seafood meals before. Zhouyuchuanshuo's products can be said to be "one trick to conquer the world". Chen Yunyun could not hide her joy: "Zhouyuchuanshuo has helped us open up a larger market. 2024 is the first year of the brand's launch. We conservatively estimate that sales will reach 30 million, which is completely beyond our expectations."

Young doctors usually go from school to school and need to gain more practical experience from enterprises. The students trained in this way are more in line with the needs of the market and industry, and they also retain a lot of talents for the local area. Wu Chuanyu said that the proportion of Zhejiang Ocean University graduates staying in Zhoushan is increasing year by year. Before 2020, the rate of staying in Zhoushan was less than 15%, but this year it has reached 19.47%.

In recent years, Zhejiang has built on its advantages, focused on deepening innovation, accelerated the construction of innovative Zhejiang, and developed new quality productivity in accordance with local conditions. The Doctoral Innovation Station of Zhejiang Ocean University is a "vivid footnote" to the province's promotion of the integrated development of education, science and technology talents, providing a platform for talents to play their roles, enterprises with technological innovation products, and universities with a direction to cultivate talents.

Note: The cover image comes from the copyright library. Reprinting may cause copyright disputes.