Rapport/Report 36/2010 English summary

Summary

The report summarizes how processing of seafood influences the nutritional content of seafood and how various processing conditions may affect the bioavailability of individual nutrients. In addition, a short description of the latest scientific documentation on the health benefits of seafood consumption is included, as well as the nutritional traits that makes seafood a special food. Increased degree of seafood processing generally tends to reduce the content of some nutrients, especially low molecular water soluble components which are susceptible to leaching. Application of heat may thermally degrade components and pH extremes may also destroy several components. However, processing may increase the bioavailability of macronutrients, and thus processing has an ambivalent effect by decreasing nutritional content and increasing bioavailability. With the exception of very extensive processing, such as processing of “lutefisk” and surimi products which removes the majority of soluble substances, the nutritional decrease in the majority of processing conditions is probably not sufficient to make a significant impact on the health benefits of seafood consumption, and any effect would be challenging to test and find in a human study.