The RE-BLUE project aims to develop and apply innovative, energy-efficient technologies that enhance the sustainable production of healthy food from small pelagic fish, primarily herring and sprat. The project is a collaboration between three European universities, one research institute and one seafood producer; all with extensive expertise in seafood science and technology; including the valorization of pelagic fish. Three companies are also tied to the project as subcontractors, representing seafood producers and processing plants as well as food tech companies focused on pelagic fish and side streams.
Background
Herring (Clupea harengus) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus) are two low trophic level fish species which dominate the fisheries of many Northern/Central European countries. They are, however, massively underutilized for food production which is increasingly questioned based on i) the current geopolitical situation, ii) the increasing need of affordable, nutrient dense and locally produced food as well as iii) the ongoing dietary protein shift where consumers seek healthy and sustainable protein sources to replace red meat. Herring and sprat have as low climate footprint as pulses and are rich in high quality proteins, important fatty acids, vitamins and minerals; many of which are missing in red and/or green protein sources. Combining climate impact and nutrient density data, herring/sprat were recently ranked as the most favorable animal protein sources common to the EU.
Approach
The RE-BLUE project will explore new scalable food value chains from the large parts of the herring/sprat catches that either do not enter the food chain (whole fish landed as feed) or leave the food chain (filleting rest raw materials, also going to feed). Together, these biomass streams make up ca. 60-95% (!) of total herring/sprat catches in the countries of this consortium. Our specific aims are to design, align and combine process-steps which are tailored to tackle the very small size of the “forage fish”, the presence of enzyme-dense organs, high levels of pigments/pro-oxidants/small bones and the occasional abundance of environmental toxins like dioxins, dioxin-like PCB´s and PFAS.
The acquired results can be extended to other European small fish species regarded to be invasive or underutilized and are expected to have major societal impact related to e.g., food preparedness, public health, and national/EU policies.
The project has a duration of three years starting 31 May 2024.