#News • 7 March 2022

The optimal percentage of Balfegó bluefin tuna fat makes it the best in the world

At an international level, Bluefin tuna is one of the most appreciated products in haute cuisine. It has both the protein and fat from the sea, a healthy fat rich in Omega-3 that is increasingly valued by professional cooks and tuna lovers. 

In fact, the bluefin tuna weight and fat percentage matters, and it is what makes bluefin tuna different from other tuna. The United States market is the one that most values fat, followed by Japan. At the moment, it’s not valued as highly in Spain, although this is changing and Spain is now beginning to demand fish with an increasingly higher fat percentage.

So, a lot of fat, little fat…how do we know? At Balfegó, we are the only company in the world that is capable of measuring the bluefin tuna weight and fat, and we do it by percentage and this allows us to adapt ourselves to the different tastes of our clients. 

How we achieve an optimal fat percentage of Balfegó bluefin tuna

 

Fat is what determines the taste, quality, and use of each part. Balfegó’s bluefin tuna has between 8 and 12% of fat, an optimal and highly valued percentage in the United States.

Calculating the optimal level of bluefin tuna weight and fat starts in the fishing process. At Balfegó, we capture wild bluefin tuna in the Western Mediterranean during May and June and we bring them, alive, to our aquacultural facilities located on the Mediterranean coast of L’Ametlla de Mar, around 100km from Barcelona. 

During the transport over many kilometers, the tuna lose some of their body fat. At Balfegó, we feed them until they recover their body fat and are at the optimal fat percentage. The feeding is exclusively based on oily fish, specifically sardines, herring and mackerel, which is what they would eat in their natural habitat. This is one of the factors that makes Balfegó the best bluefin tuna provider in the world. 

Another factor is that we only extract tuna on demand, and this allows us to sell fresh bluefin tuna 365 days a year with constant and assured quality, unique in the market.

Balfegó is the only company in the market capable of measuring the fat of bluefin tuna

 

The tracking system we developed is a first in the market. Through a QR code, both the diner and chef can see the fat percentage of the fish that they are working on or eating. It’s a unique system in the fishing world and proof of our commitment to sustainability and transparency.  

The system also is a food and legal security guarantee for the product, not just for the catching, but also throughout the entire supply chain. It is efficient and easy to control.

Balfegó’s Department of Innovation