EcoD – Bringing new life to cod waste turning it into protein powder for human consumption

Project Information

EcoD

Grant agreement ID: 884324

DOI

10.3030/884324

Project closed

EC signature date 20 November 2019

Start date 1 December 2019

End date 31 March 2020

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

ICELAND PROTEIN
Iceland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EcoD (EcoD – Bringing new life to cod waste turning it into protein powder for human consumption)

Reporting period: 2019-12-01 to 2020-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

More than 50% of fish tissues are considered “waste” and discarded, taking approximately 3 tonnes of fish to produce 1 tonne for eating. Fish by-products have a huge impact on aquatic ecosystems as they release organic substances that might cause a substantial pollution in the seas and the oceans by significantly modifying the aquatic biodiversity and contributing to the depletion of some aquatic species. Moreover, the unutilised fish by-products also constitute a considerable source of bioactive compounds with well-known industrial applications such as proteins and lipids. Therefore, these by-products represent a significant amount of potential profit that can be generated from otherwise discarded material. Iceland Protein (IP) has developed a unique process that enables to make a lot of value out of soft cod roes from wild and sustainably caught cod, a highly unutilised cod by-product. The process enables to transform tonnes of soft cod roe into a high quality and natural protein powder with an outstanding composition to develop a food supplement for human consumption, the EcoD powder.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

IP has optimised the EcoD production process and scaled it up to semi-industrial machinery using 2 tons of raw material with a 16% yield. The full EcoD product’s composition has also been determined and the company is focused on the development of a food supplement for sportspeople as well as the isolation of certain EcoD’s individual components with industrial applications, i.e. collagen and arginine. Likewise, IP is investigating a new process to get rid of the fish smell and flavour from EcoD. This process has lots of potential applications in the fish industry as it might enable the utilisation of more fish by-products to manufacture more products for human consumption, contributing to achieve a circular economy.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

IP is contributing to achieve a circular economy by transforming the soft cod roes, into a high value, innovative and sustainable food supplement and also into feed, pharmaceutical or cosmetic ingredients. IP is also contributing to reduce the amount of fish waste that is thrown away to the oceans causing pollution. IP is manufacturing EcoD, a 100% natural and sustainable food supplement with an excellent composition for sportspeople and other populations.

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