WASTE2TASTE overall goal is to create a thorough product development process and a viable business model that is cost-effective, marketable and meets consumer preferences. Moreover, WASTE2TASTE will contribute to the PHFL valorization, including underused fishery by-catch species (e.g. non-protected cartilaginous fish with low commercial value and NIS) and by-products from fish processing and aquaculture industries (e.g. skin, scales, bones, fins, mucus, offal, heads, tails), reducing waste and developing commercially viable high-value products for food applications. An indirect impact is to foster the consumer demand for marine NIS, as a direct management measure for these species which are an ecological hazard to native ecosystems, as for jellyfish biomass (e.g. Rhopilema nomadica, and Aurelia aurita whose blooms are a challenge for authorities in the South Aegean Sea and in the Sea of Marmara and Black Sea, as well as blooms of Pelagia noctiluca in the central and western Mediterranean), shellfish (e.g. blue swimmer crab – Portunus segnis), or starfish (e.g. Asterias rubens). Furthermore, WASTE2TASTE will allow managing the presence of dangerous NIS in the East Mediterranean Sea, including lionfish (Pterois miles) that can outcompete native species, disrupt ecological interactions, and reduce fish populations, and pufferfish (Lagocephalus species), that are toxic and can pose a health risk to humans who consume them. WASTE2TASTE objective is to advance from TRL 3 towards exploitation by the relevant industry (TRL 7), with the goal of a first commercial product within 3 years of project completion. This will be done through the implementation of green processes that will be tested and compared with state-of-the-art industrial processes, to reduce hazardous and contaminating reagents, and energy-intensive processes. WASTE2TASTE will focus on the extraction of collagen, chitin/chitosan, fish oil, and bioactive hydrolysates and their potential use as functional ingredients in food products that will target different end-user’ health issues, such as exercise performance, muscle growth, joint problems, gut health, and obesity.

For more details visit wastetotaste.eu.