The FISH-ECOSUS project promoted by ICTAN researcher Carmen Gómez selected in the II CSIC COCREA call for proposals

The project ‘Fish Processing Industry: Towards a Sustainable and Profitable Model’ (FISH-ECOSUS) in collaboration with the company Profand will seek the integral valorisation of waste and by-products generated by the fish and seafood processing industry with the aim of transforming them into compounds of technological and bioactive interest with high commercial value for the functional food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries.

The FISH-ECOSUS project promoted by the researcher María del Carmen Gómez Guillén from the Development, Valorisation and Innovation of Fishery Products (INNOVAPESCA) group has been selected as one of the ten projects to participate in the second edition of the CSIC COCREA call for proposals.

This project aims to ‘make use of fish and seafood processing waste to develop innovative materials, such as biodegradable packaging and edible coatings with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties,’ explains the researcher.

This public-private partnership will be carried out with the multinational Profand, a specialist in the fisheries sector, which is pursuing the sustainability objective of ‘zero waste’ as well as the implementation of biodegradable single-use packaging by 2030.

‘This is an ambitious project where, on the one hand, we seek to recover proteins rich in essential amino acids, lipids with a high omega-3 content, mineral extracts and natural antioxidants from bones, scales, viscera, etc. that come from the processing of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods in order to offer them to a secondary market. These compounds have a high biological value that can be used as nutraceuticals or ingredients by pharmaceutical or food companies. On the other hand, we want to innovate by obtaining a material that can be used to make biodegradable packaging, as a substitute or complementary to plastic, which is capable of prolonging the useful life of the food, thus avoiding waste,’ says Carmen Gómez.

In addition, the project focuses on edible coatings which, when applied directly to food, provide a natural barrier that prevents the proliferation of micro-organisms and delays oxidation, ensuring greater freshness and food safety.

Example of a coating material made in the laboratory from fish waste to protect the food and extend its shelf life.

This type of hybrid public-private partnership will address and solve the problem of the high volume of waste from the commercial processing of fish and shellfish, which is a serious environmental problem and the disposal of which entails high economic costs for the company.

CSIC COCREA Programme

The specific objective of the CSIC COCREA programme is to promote public-private collaboration through the development of open innovation co-creation and co-development projects between CSIC and companies to promote solutions to global challenges. The projects in this call for proposals rewarded solutions to challenges to promote a sustainable agri-food chain and foster the circular economy.

CSIC COCREA is part of CSIC’s open innovation hub, Converge, launched by the Vice-Presidency for Innovation and Transfer of the Spanish National Research Council.

Access to the full CSIC press release: La segunda convocatoria de CSIC COCREA ya tiene sus proyectos seleccionados en colaboración con empresas

Communication ICTAN-CSIC