Fish, fish foods and seafood in general occupy an important place in the human diet due to their high nutritional value. ‘Fish products’ include: fish, crustaceans (shrimps, lobsters, crabs) and molluscs (mussels, clams, cuttlefish, squid, calamari). These foods are a natural source of minerals such as selenium, which is essential for the proper functioning of the thyroid gland, as well as being a source of high quality protein. They also supply the body with important saturated and polyunsaturated fats such as Omega 3 fatty acids. This category of fats is indispensable to our lives.
For these reasons too, international health and nutrition organisations recommend eating fish at least twice a week as a natural protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease.
One of the main concerns of the fishing industry is to ensure the quality and integrity of these products, which can be perishable, and to avoid contamination by impurities from seawater. The solution to these problems is the use of SIAD technologies using protective gases and mixtures. For example, SIAD has developed various applications in protective atmosphere packaging that take into account the different amounts of fat in different types of fish and also the requirement for shelf life. These technologies are also used in the cold chain, which plays a very important role in this sector. Fish that require additional processing are frozen on the surface in order to preserve their shape during cutting and slicing and, at the same time, to avoid generating heat during this cutting process.
It can be said that the use of gases and mixtures adds to the value of fish products. Their organoleptic characteristics are preserved and, in addition, the product is delivered to the final consumer fresh, clean and tastefully packaged.
