Challenges for the Rendering of Aquaculture Products

Challenges for the Rendering of Aquaculture Products

Products from marine by-products are very perishable, so they need to be stored immediately after production. However, seafood processing facilities in many developing countries are small and medium-sized, with insufficient infrastructure to adequately preserve them.

Therefore, investment (finance, infrastructure and human resources) in this area may not be profitable. With products for human consumption, waste products and by-products need to be processed and produced according to quality management systems based on good production and hygiene, managed through hazard analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP).

The major challenge with gelatine extraction from fish is the identification of raw materials, and the different qualities of raw materials in terms of color and odor. Furthermore, gelatine from aquaculture can not currently compete on price with mammalian gelatine. The profitability of chitosan from shrimp waste is only 10% (as reported) and to produce good quality chitosan, it is necessary to properly preserve shrimp waste. In addition, production in toxic and acidic environments requires specialized equipment and special working conditions.

There has been much scientific research to increase the use of waste products and by-products for use in the “nutritional medicine” and pharmaceutical industries, but there are still barriers to commercialization. these products.

For example, pigments such as astaxanthin in crustaceans must compete with synthetic astaxanthin and astaxanthin derived from microalgae produced at very cheap prices. Genetic microbes are commonly used to produce the same enzymes as the phosphatase alkaloids from shrimp and uracil-DNA glycosylase isolated from Atlantic cod liver. Initially, these enzymes were found and isolated from byproducts, waste products in shrimp processing and Atlantic cod.

For pharmaceutical products, functional foods and supplements on the market, specific health certifications must be administered by regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), or the Japan Food Security Specialist (FOSHU).

To achieve accreditation, these products must provide positive results from human studies, but such research is often costly.

The most practical application of products from seafood by-products is to make food directly or indirectly through the use of raw materials. The use of by-products, by-products to isolate high-value biologically active compounds in many cases is unrealistic (except for the extraction of omega-3s).

The important reason is: lack of market for the product; Existing / defective high quality items are very limited; Small-scale production is very costly and involves many difficulties in providing the necessary documentation for product certification.

The trend towards reduced waste and increased reuse of waste / by-products in fisheries processing can only develop when these challenges are overcome. As a result, the economic, social and environmental benefits are enhanced.

In addition, the development of science and technology combined with improved investment and production processes in the processing industry will be important drivers and foundation for this trend.