With over 400 members in 35 countries, the IFT Aquatic Food Products Division promotes collaboration and innovation in aquatic food science, supporting advances in safety, nutrition, sustainability, and product development since 1982 © JFS
The open-access issue, developed by IFT’s Aquatic Food Products Division, shares a series of critical reviews and explores the multifaceted aspects of aquatic food and their role in a sustainable future. It addresses topics ranging from production, processing, safety, nutrition, shelf life and emerging technologies while also addressing key concerns in the aquatic food industry, such as monitoring for environmental toxins, pathogens and ensuring product authentication and labelling integrity.
The issue also highlights innovations in processing methods as well as the efficient utilisation of processing byproducts to minimise environmental impact and add value to the processing chain.
“With the continuous increase in global population, aquatic foods – including fish, shellfish, seaweed and microalgae – have become vital sources of nutrition,” said Qinchun Rao, professor of food science at Florida State University, in a press release. “These foods offer high-quality proteins, essential omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds crucial for human health. Promoting aquatic foods can potentially reduce the consumption of red meat and poultry, which are associated with high carbon footprints, and bolster food security for vulnerable populations.”
Rao, a member of the IFT Aquatic Food Products Division, authored an article in the special issue on improving consumer acceptance of seaweed-based foods.
The IFT is a nonprofit scientific association committed to advancing the science of food and its application across the global food system. In recent months, JFS has created special issues on ultra-processed foods and advances in sensory science, and has released special collections focusing on Japanese and South American food science research, as well as fats, salt and sugar reduction. JFS also has a call for papers open for a new special issue on artificial intelligence in food science and nutrition.
