Results from a landmark European project have laid the foundations to strengthen the seafood production and processing industry in Europe and safeguard sustainable seafood for future generations.
Funded by the EU Horizon 2020 program, SEAFOODTOMORROW has developed innovative solutions to tackle some of the seafood industry’s biggest issues: sustainability and ensuring the safety, quality, transparency and availability of products that meet consumer needs.
Seafood is an important source of high-quality protein and is naturally rich in valuable nutrients for a healthy diet. Approximately three billion people rely on (wild-caught and farmed) seafood as a primary source of protein. As both the world population and aquaculture continue to expand, it is vital to develop new, innovative and eco-friendly solutions to ensure that global seafood security and quality meet market demands.
Launched in 2017, SEAFOODTOMORROW aimed to tackle these challenges. Key outputs from the project, that has just finished, include:
– Novel aquafeeds which replace traditional fish feed sources such as fishmeal and fish oil with sustainable, eco-friendly natural ingredients and produce farmed fish fillets fortified in essential nutrients for consumers.
– New technologies and fast screening tools to detect contaminants in seafood that can be used by producers to control the risk of contaminants and reduce loss of their products.
– A concept for accredited certification and associated quality reward label and DNA based tools to support the reliable identification of seafood species, to help tackle fraud and support transparency along the seafood value chain.
Improved access to reliable information about seafood:
– A web-based training course has been developed for managers in the seafood sector to address education gaps in the industry (seafoodtomorrow.eu/e-learning).
– The FishChoice website and app (fishchoice.eu) can be used by individual consumers to assess nutritional benefits and any potential risks of eating seafood on a personalised basis.
The interactive SEAFOODTOMORROW Key Achievements booklet showcases the project’s innovative solutions, key results and insights. The booklet outlines the next steps needed to bring the results to market and plans by SEAFOODTOMORROW partners to explore further opportunities for end users to exploit and use the results.
António Marques, SEAFOODTOMORROW Project Coordinator, highlighted the impact of the project:
“SEAFOODTOMORROW’s results will help to decrease the environmental footprint of the seafood sector and support sustainable use of our marine resources. We expect our eco-innovative solutions will soon reach the market and will enable society to continue to enjoy seafood as a safe and nutritious food source. Some of our solutions require industry level validation. When this is achieved, we are confident that the results will help the seafood industry to navigate future societal challenges, contribute to the European Green Deal, circular economy and zero waste in the seafood sector”.
SEAFOODTOMORROW is the result of a collaboration involving more than 60 researchers from 35 partner organisations across Europe. For more information, please visit seafoodtomorrow.eu.
Source: AquaTT
