SEAFOODplus – how to provide health promoting, safe seafood of high eating quality to consumers

The strategic objective of the SEAFOODplus Integrated Project is to reduce health problems and to increase well-being among European consumers by applying the benefits obtained through consumption of health promoting and safe seafood products of high eating quality. The relevance of seafood in the diet to diminish the increased incidences of e.g. cardiovascular, cancer and inflammatory diseases is being assessed by performing dietary intervention and epidemiological studies. Other focus areas are health of young populations, to treat overweight, to prevent osteoporosis and postpartum depression observed for women giving birth. Seafood’s importance for consumer behaviour and well-being is assessed to understand determinants of consumers’ seafood consumption and to adapt seafood products to consumer demands. The objectives of the seafood safety component are to make seafood safe for the consumer, by identifying risk factors and avoiding risks caused by viral and bacterial contamination and biogenic amines in seafood. The total value chain is addressed by developing consumer driven tailor-made, functional seafood products to improve health and to ensure nutritional quality and safety by full utilisation of raw materials from aquaculture and from traditional fisheries. The aquaculture component will study the effects of dietary modulation, husbandry, fish physiology, genetics and pre-slaughter conditions. Validated traceability systems are assessed to make it possible to apply a total chain approach from the live fish to the consumer product, and to trace back any feature from fork to farm. Received: January 7, 2008; accepted January 8, 2008