WELCOME

A very warm welcome to the first newsletter of the SEAFOOD^TOMORROW project. This new, exciting H2020 funded Innovation Action has the ambitious aim to increase the availability of healthier seafood for consumers, which will improve our diet and health, matters that are in everyone’s personal interest. The knowledge and information that will be produced in this 3-year project will allow us as consumers to make better-informed seafood choices, something we can apply on a practical basis in our daily lives.

The seafood production and processing industry in Europe makes an important contribution to food security in Europe overall, and to employment and trade specifically in the European regions where these activities take place. It is important to safeguard these activities and make them even stronger and more sustainable. The European seafood industry should be market-driven and responsive to what consumers want and need. Consumers become more and more mindful of food quality and safety, they want to know where their fish products come from and worry about animal welfare. These are important matters that SEAFOOD^TOMORROW addresses by trying to find innovative solutions that will improve the safety and dietary properties of the seafood we eat.

SEAFOOD^TOMORROW is unique as it covers a wide variety of topics, addresses innovative solutions, and ensures the deep involvement of the industry in the commercialization of the validated solutions. Working with the top experts from a variety of fields and gathering them together in a single project with a common goal, is a huge motivator. It has been an honour to embrace the challenge of coordinating this large consortium composed of institutions from 15 European countries, with 19 interdisciplinary research teams, 4 Interest Association Groups and 13 Small and Medium Enterprises, covering a wide geographic area across Europe, including the most relevant seafood producing, processing, and consuming countries. 

In the 11 months since SEAFOOD^TOMORROW was launched, we have already achieved a lot. Several solutions have been developed already and they are currently being optimised and validated. Please read more about the project’s progress below. Concerning the management of the project, key aspects include; (a) ensuring and maintaining gender balance within the consortium. Out of 207 participants, the ratio is 58% women and 42% men; (b) ensuring we take care of animal welfare during experiments that involve animals and; (c) ensuring the protection of all personal data collected for the purposes of validating project results, and compliance with GDPR legislation.

I hope you enjoy the first of our three SEAFOOD^TOMORROW newsletters. If you would like to know more about SEAFOOD^TOMORROW, please visit our project website, follow us on Twitter, or contact me directly.