From the pristine, frigid depths of the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans to the state-of-the-art processing facilities in Rongcheng City on the Shandong Peninsula, the journey of a cod fish mirrors the trajectory of building a complete marine-food industry chain. Xinfafa Holdings’ invested enterprise—Shandong Lanrun Group Co., Ltd.—is leveraging its unique geographical advantages and a systematically organized industrial layout to transform this precious deep-sea resource into modern food products spanning multiple categories and catering to global markets, thereby showcasing the upgrading path of China’s marine-food industry.

Cod’s Value: The Health Secret of a Deep-Sea Treasure

Cod is a large marine fish belonging to the family Gadidae within the order Gadiformes. There are three main species: Atlantic cod, Pacific cod, and pollock. Cod typically have white undersides. Darker-colored spots are also scattered across their heads, fins, tails, and bodies. Cod primarily inhabit the waters of the North Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, and North Pacific, where they live on the seafloor. In the ecosystem, cod occupy a high position in the food chain and play an important role in effectively regulating the populations of smaller fish and benthic organisms.

In nutrition, cod is highly regarded by the nutritional community as a premium marine ingredient due to its exceptional nutritional value. It is rich in high-quality protein, omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin D, and vitamin B12—components that offer significant benefits for heart health, bone development, brain development, cardiovascular health, and nervous system function. Cod is particularly suitable for infants, the elderly, and individuals who need to control their fat intake. Moreover, its low-fat, high-protein profile makes it an ideal food choice for people of all ages. In addition, cod is a natural treasure trove of minerals. Every 100 grams of edible cod flesh contains 24.8 micrograms of selenium and as much as 321 milligrams of potassium, meeting the daily intake requirements of adults. Furthermore, cod is abundant in trace elements such as phosphorus, calcium, and hydrochloric acid. These nutrients make cod an ideal ingredient for infants, the elderly, and fitness enthusiasts alike.

Industrial Foundation: Geographical Endowments and Quality Assurance

Rongcheng City is located in the golden latitude band at 37° north, surrounded by sea on three sides, and boasts a superior climate and vast marine waters. This natural fishing ground provides a solid foundation for Lanrun Group to deeply cultivate the marine food industry. Adhering to the guiding principle of "ecology first, integrated aquaculture and capture, and expansion into distant-water fisheries," Lanrun Group leverages the largest distant-water fishing fleet and major fishing terminals on the Jiaodong Peninsula to build a robust front-end system—from distant-water fishing to port services. As one of the few enterprises that have achieved “self-produced and self-captured” marine food processing and harvesting, Lanrun Group has invested in constructing a comprehensive marine food processing base. This includes a 15,000-ton ultra-low-temperature cold storage facility capable of maintaining temperatures as low as -60°C and another 15,000-ton cold storage facility operating at -25°C, providing critical support for preserving the freshness of deep-sea cod at its source. Moreover, 100% of the cod raw materials used in the production workshops can be traced back to specific fishing areas, ensuring that every piece of cod served on consumers’ tables can be verified and tracked. By establishing a comprehensive food safety system and offering end-to-end solutions across the entire marine fishery value chain, Lanrun Group has achieved full traceability and control over the entire process—from raw material fishing and cold-chain transportation to warehousing, ingredient preparation, and final product manufacturing—thus truly realizing transparent production and naturally safe products.

To deliver cod nutrients to the table efficiently and safely, Lanrun Group has built a modern industrial park. In its standardized production workshops, cod raw materials undergo more than ten meticulous processing steps—including thawing, cleaning, removing impurities, filleting, de-boning, removing pin bones, slicing, marinating, battering, coating with breadcrumbs, shaping, freezing, and packaging. The cod-processing workshop employs a carbon-dioxide freezing system and is equipped with a complete set of advanced, original Japanese conditioning equipment, enabling fully automated control throughout the entire process—from raw materials to finished-product packaging. This not only boosts efficiency but also maximizes the preservation of cod’s delicious texture.

Relying on its comprehensive, end-to-end quality control capabilities and advanced processing technologies, Lanrun Group has broken the traditional boundaries of cod products, creating a multi-dimensional product portfolio that caters to diverse consumption scenarios. This portfolio encompasses a wide range of categories, including fresh-frozen products (whole fish, gutted fillets, fish slices), deeply processed ready-to-eat items (breaded products, canned goods, fish surimi), salted and dried products (salted dried cod, smoked cod), and derived nutritional products (fish liver oil, cod roe). Traditional cod products have undergone refined upgrades; through standardized processing, the fish meat and its nutritional components are preserved to the greatest extent possible. The tender texture and high-protein, low-fat characteristics of the fish meat are fully retained during processing. Moreover, by employing low-temperature freshness-locking technology and precise temperature-control processes, the group further enhances the stability and consistency of product quality. This diversified product development not only enables cod to seamlessly integrate into various settings—from Chinese and Western restaurants to home kitchens—but also empowers the company to actively participate in global market competition. Furthermore, the synergistic development across different product categories continuously boosts the added value of cod, meeting consumers’ growing demands for health, convenience, and diverse flavors. By targeting markets in Europe and the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and other regions around the world, the company has improved resource utilization, enhanced the added value of cod products, and expanded the value boundaries of cod-based offerings.

From reverence for the gifts of the deep sea to mastery over modern food-processing techniques, Shandong Lanrun Group has revitalized this ancient, globally significant fish species by building a fully integrated cod industry chain that ensures source traceability, features sophisticated processing, and is market-driven. This approach not only breathes new life into the cod—a species with a long history in global commerce—but also provides a solid practical example for China’s marine-food industry, enabling it to shift from being merely a participant in the globalization wave to becoming a value creator. (Hu Yueyao)

Excerpted from « China Food Morning News