Compared to the state of the art, F®ISH will provide advantages to the European fish market of all types and sizes, as the successful realization of it will enable fish processing companies to overcome the freezing and defrosting difficulties with a low energy-demand production process and thus, to increase its quality, productivity, resource efficiency, compliance and competitiveness in the fish industry. The potential shortening of the production process, with a high quality in fish are the most relevant arguments from a commercial point of view allowing F®ISH’s customers to increase their value for money thanks to shorter production times, lower investment equipment costs, lower space needed in the plant and reduced energy costs.
The proposed F®ISH will solve the problems linked to freezing and defrosting processing of fish by providing following benefits:
• Lower energy input for the freezing/defrosting of fish (70% less) leading to lower energy costs and lower carbon footprint.
• Flexibility in the process: F®ISH can be used either for freezing and defrosting, or for both.
• Food Security: F®ISH will avoid the decay or damage of fish and sea products, which will assure food security and reduce fish wastes.
• For different quantities: F®ISH can be used for different amounts of fish. It functions in large amounts but it can be used for small fish enterprises as well.
• Sanitization: the new technology avoids the growth of bacteria and other microorganisms on the surface of the fish.
• High fish quality: previous experiments have shown that the properties of fish after freezing/defrosting with the technology stay constant: texture, flavour, colour, water content, etc.
• Reduction of time: Test studies have demonstrated that with the combination of aerosol and ultrasound technologies as in F®ISH, time can be reduced up to 80%.
F®ISH’s commercialization will generate high revenues in the targeted market segment and in the long run, will extend further its activities to a global scale resulting in an establishment of a leading market position in the fish market. Besides, economic benefits will be achieved for clients of F®ISH technology, which are on the one hand based on substantial cost savings and, on the other hand, based on increased sales due to the higher freshness achieved (higher consumer satisfaction). Cost savings can be attributed to the various environmental benefits of the F®ISH technology:
• Reduction of food wastage (35% less waste): Reduction of food waste will subsequently result in reduced bio-waste disposal costs. For an average supermarket bio-waste disposal costs lie in a magnitude of 7,000 and 15,000 € per year.
• Reduction of total volume of fish required: By reducing the wastage of fish the total amount needed to cover the demand in the EU, will be reduced as well. This equals substantial savings in resources, including water, land, energy, labour and capital. F®ISH will reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.
