AquaCycle

Enhancing Food Security in Singapore Through Waste Valorisation and Nutrient Recovery

An efficient food system with waste valorisation and nutrient recovery strategy can improve food security in Singapore. With aquacultures playing a key part in achieving the goals of Singapore’s “30 by 30” agenda, it is inevitable that the waste derived from finfish and shellfish processing will increase along with the annual yield. Aquaculture side streams contain valuable food nutrients (proteins, saccharides, lipids, and vitamins) and are currently underutilised.

Our research group, which includes researchers from NTU and TUM, proposes developing an integrative approach to efficiently convert fish processing waste into palatable, nutritive, and health-promoting food ingredients. The new processes learnt from this project will help Singapore solve its emerging waste problem and produce health-oriented aquaculture by-products as novel foods. The innovative techniques developed in AquaCycle will contribute to creating a circular economy model for a sustainable aquacultural food supply.

Objectivies

Designing a new approach for handling local aquaculture waste
Chemical characterisation of fermented fishery by-products (e.g. nutrients, toxins, and health-promoting metabolites)
Identification of taste-active and taste-enhancing peptides in fermented fishery by-products using the sensomics and sensoproteomics approach
Evaluation of the nutritional and functional benefits of fishery by-products in interaction with the gut microbiome

Achievements So Far

Fermentation of tuna off-cuts using Rhizopus oligosporus under selected conditions did not produce mycotoxins above safety levels and taste-active peptides were also found using in-silico untargeted peptidomics.

Next Steps of Experiment

Vitamin and taste profiling of fermented samples
Investigate the effect of Rhizopus oligosporus on gut microbiota through in-vivo stool fermentation