Fish skin could be the new trendy snack

A new Danish project will transform fish skin from animal feed to healthy snacks for humans.

Today, fish skin is a byproduct from the fishing industry. A new project will reduce waste by converting fish skin to high-value ingredients such as fish gelatin, ingredients in skin care products and healthy snacks like fish chips. The project brings together a wide range of industry partners, Danish Fish Protein among others, as well as the Danish Technological Institute and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) as knowledge partners.

“When there is no production of fish gelatin or fish chips in Denmark today, new knowledge must be added to the companies in relation to new processing steps. We are looking forward to this fish skin project and contribute to the realization of the business potential – so the waste product can become a high value product,” says Senior Consultant Karin Loft Eybye from Danish Technological Institute.

This project develops a completely new and sustainable value chain in Denmark

“We already have a global strengthening position within food ingredients. It is natural for fishermen to expand this position with fishing gelatine,” says Senior Project Manager Marco Frederiksen from Eurofish International Organization.

Extraction and testing

One of the industy partners, Danish Fish Protein expects a big potential in the fish skin. In relation to fish chips, tests and pilot production are conducted and various flavor variations will be tested with consumers. Based on these tests, companies can start a true production with minimal risk and investment.

The Technological Institute in Denmark has in this context been included in the project to contribute competencies in the development of production methods of ingredients, facilities for testing and quality assessment of prototypes, such as consumer panels, as well as in-depth knowledge of physical and chemical characterization.

Source: Food Supply