Expertise on animal fats refining and extraction of valuable compounds from fisheries and aquaculture for building a consortium to address H2020 calls

A Spanish non-profit, private technological centre has a large trajectory in international cooperation. The centre has coordinated 19 of the total 35 participated European projects from FP6 to Horizon 2020 including LIFE and ECO-Innovation programs. The main R&D fields where the centre develops its activities are nanotechnology, new materials and advanced-environment technologies, chemistry (synthesis of special organic functional chemicals: organic-inorganic coupling agents, intermediates precursors for complex reactions, etc. including also an area related with sustainable chemistry). Fish wastes are currently used by processing industries for the production of fishmeal and fish oil, contributing also that way to the reduction of environmental pollution. The seafood industry has a vast potential for waste generation, including fish oils. An excessive amount of lipid derived from guts, heads, fins, scales and fish skins can be used for development of nutraceutical and food industries. Fish are rich in essential fatty acids, among which the long chain ones (C20 and C22). Additionally, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are being widely used by food industry in order to obtain fortified foods because these fatty acids belong to the omega-3 family. The global consumption of dietary supplements and nutraceutical products based on fish oil has rapidly expanded. Fish oil indeed is the main source of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids. Fish oil derived from blue fish, in particular, is rich of especially eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are the most investigated nutrients. On the other hand, fish processing wastes are also a source of proteins and derived (peptides, aminoacids…). The composition of the fish varies according to the type of species and part of the fish, but most of the fish contains 15-30% protein, 0-25% fat and 50-80% moisture. Furthermore, fish protein contains a well-balanced aminoacids composition. In this context, the technological centre has been working during more than 15 years, with an industrial partner whose core business is animal wastes treatment and revalorization of proteins and fats on different areas (mainly animal food) with the common objective of improving their production processes and widening the portfolio of products in the market. Both partners worked in previous projects on animal fats refining (filtration, degumming, neutralization, winterization, bleaching, deodorization…) for exploitation on biorefineries and on different exploitation of protein on several commercial products. Currently, both partners work also together on extraction processes of valuable compounds of different production processes streams. Laboratory and pilot scale facilities of the technological centre, as well as production facilities of the industrial partner, allow both companies the work on batch testing at pilot and semi-industrial scale. The technology centre is offering its expertise in order to form a consortium with SMEs or RTDs related to a range of activities related to aquaculture, fisheries and/or aquatic biomass sectors: logistic and infrastructural waste streams (residual and side streams), processing of products, manufacture and commercialisation of dietary supplements and nutraceutical products, regulation and standards, and education training experts for dissemination and for creating learning resources. The main activities of the partners should be the definition of technical requirements, implementation of the logistic and infrastructural solutions in the aquaculture, fisheries and/or aquatic biomass wastes management, look for end-users in order to validate the valorized dietary supplements and/or nutraceutical products, the characterization and test the properties of the new products, regulatory and standard assessment and production of training, learning and education resources.