Safety, Processing, and Utilization of Fishery Products

Abstract

Global marine fish harvests have reached a plateau over the last decade, and efforts to increase aquaculture tend to face limitations in terms of water resources and contamination problems. Of the current fish harvest, at least 50% is discarded as waste. The current situation requires efforts to process, preserve, and utilize the fish capture to minimize waste. Chemical and microbiological contamination limit the utilization of harvested fish. There is a need to improve fish preservation to minimize spoilage and to process them into more appealing products. Instead of resorting to individual food-processing methods, the efficiency of processing could best be increased by a combination of conventional and modern processing methods or by combinations of modern processing methods. Fish waste is a rich source of oils containing essential fatty acids, polypeptides, and amino polysaccharides that could be utilized through the upscaling of current scientifically proven methods to new processing technologies. The separation of collagens, gelatins, bioactive peptides, edible fish oils, and chitosan form the primary stages in the utilization of fish waste. The products need purification to meet food quality and safety standards and to have desirable industrial characteristics. The diversity of information and products generated through new methods require advanced data handling and prediction systems, such as artificial intelligence, to address food safety and to derive the best out of fish processing and utilization.