New fish preservation techniques developed by FAO

Name of story Savefood
Linked ICI page Save_Food_initiative
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Full story text Fish smoking and drying are preservation techniques that are widely used in small-scale fisheries communities in developing coastal regions. Processing fish is also an important strategy to reduce losses by significantly increasing shelf-life of the product. This is advantageous compared to fresh or frozen fish which requires cold storage that is largely inaccessible due to electricity scarcity in rural areas. Fish smoking techniques in West and Central Africa are traditionally based on open kilns using mangrove wood as the main source of fuel. However, open kilns are highly energy inefficient, release contaminants and the dependence on mangrove fuel has been a significant driver of degradation of mangrove forests in the region. A new and easy-to-assemble fish smoking and drying technology pioneered by FAO has been developed to improve to energy efficiency in rural communities by using 50 percent less wood fuel compared to traditional open-type smoking rafts. The FAO-Thiaroye fish processing technology (FTT-Thiaroye) is also helping to reduce health hazards, improve food safety and quality, improve working conditions and cut down food losses in many small-scale fishing communities. The FTT consists of a dual functioning smoking oven and mechanical drier and is specifically designed to improve fuel-efficiency in small-scale fish smoking by encapsulating heat and smoke. Agricultural residues such as coconut husks, sugar-cane bagasse or manure can also be utilized as fuel in substitution for mangrove wood. Reducing the intensity of mangrove wood harvesting are expected to benefit the mangrove ecosystems and biodiversity through reduced deforestation and degradation of mangrove forests. This is also contributing to climate change mitigation as mangroves have some of the highest carbon sequestration potential of all terrestrial forest while building resilience to climate impacts through coastline protection. The FTT-Thairoye technology also does not release any contaminants such as carcinogens and tar directly onto the product, and is therefore in compliance with international food standards and other safety requirements while reducing quality losses during smoking. Additionally, processing operations can be conducted in any season thereby enabling drying activities during rainy and cloudy periods, which prevent losses otherwise due to insects, pests and spoilage from open air exposure. This protects businesses and commercial activities of small-scale fish operators from quality and market force losses. The technology has now been tested and adapted in 13 countries in Africa and Asia.
Short story text A new and easy-to-assemble fish smoking and drying technology pioneered by FAO has been developed to improve to energy efficiency in rural communities by using 50 percent less wood fuel compared to traditional open-type smoking rafts. .
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