From waste to taste: exploring innovative food applications of postharvest fish losses

WASTE2TASTE (W2T) is a network of 8 partners from Italy, Spain, Malta, Turkey and Norway representing universities, research institutes and industry. The partners have state-of-the-art scientific and technical expertise and are aiming to develop commercially viable products by using by-products from fish processing and aquaculture industries that are currently treated as waste. The main objective is the valorization of these underused resources, demonstrating potential applications in the perspective of a circular economy. W2T will utilize fish by-products that are naturally rich in proteins and bioactive compounds, to develop green and cost-effective bioprocesses for the production of specific marine ingredients and products for food applications. In this way, the project will contribute to reducing the waste volumes in the marine sector and address the European "Zero Waste" goal. W2T will investigate the underutilized marine biological resources with laboratory and larger scale production of selected ingredients and products, where one of the end products is aiming at targeting different end-users' health issues.

WASTE2TASTE (W2T) is a network of 8 partners from academia, research centers, and SME’s, with expertise in education and with state-of-the-art scientific and technical expertise aimed at the development of commercially viable products by using post harvest fish losses (PHFL), including unwanted fishery by-catch species (e.g., non-indigenous species (NIS) and cartilaginous fish with low commercial value) and by-products from fish processing and aquaculture industries. The main objective is the valorization of PHFL, showing potential applications in a circular economy and an eco-friendly vision by developing protocols for sustainable exploitation of underused and/or wasted marine resources, to obtain high-value products for food applications. W2T will utilize PHFL, naturally rich in proteins and bioactive compounds, to develop innovative green and cost-effective bioprocesses for the production of marine ingredients (e.g., collagen, chitin/chitosan, and fish oil), reducing extraction time and use of hazardous solvents/enzymes allowing. W2T will (i) contribute to reducing the waste volume through the development of appropriate PHFL management measures, (ii) address the European "ZeroWaste" goal aiming at the 3R principle "Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”, (iii) contribute to achieve a resilient and sustainable development for marine/maritime sector and, in an indirect way, (iv) mitigate the NIS, which cause damage to marine ecosystems and humans. The challenge is to gain insights into market opportunities that will be profitable and will satisfy new and different attitudes/demands of consumers. W2T will exploit the potential of underutilized marine biological resources, from laboratory to industrial scale production of collagen and chitosan-based products, with potential commercial uses that reach TRL 7. W2T will create a nutritional end product targeting different end-users’ health issues (e.g., exercise performance, muscle growth, joint problems, gut health, and obesity).