Shark -novel food product based on mussels

Purpose and goal

The aim of this project was to develop a processed meat product based on Swedish mussels with positive effects on both the environment and human health. The project has generated an innovative and delicate sausage based on mussels. In order to achieve this, the project has characterized the raw material and developed a prototype based on healthy and environmental friendly ingredients: Swedish mussles, minced fish meat from by-products, rape seed oil and root vegetables. A LCA analysis displayed that the mussel sausage has 5 times lower environment impact than traditional meat sausage.

Expected results and effects

The project has generated a delicious sausage based on Swedish mussels that is prepared as a traditional meat sausage. The product addresses two strong trends in today´s food industry; health and sustainability, by having low fat content, containing omega 3 and high-valuable proteins and having 5 times lower environment impact than traditional meat sausage. The results from the project clearly displayed the potential of using mussels in a variety of products such as sandwich sausages and pâté´s. The long term effect is development of new products and increased sale of Swedish sea food.

Planned approach and implementation

The project was conducted as a joint innovation project between the three project partners. Musselfeed AB has continuously provided the project with the mussel raw material and Pelle Johansson has together with staff from SP FB developed the process and recipe for a tasty mussel sausage. The mussel raw material was also characterized which resulted in additional recipe and process optimization. Environmental expertise was consulted for each ingredient choice to establish the sustainability of the product. The project was finalized with the provsmakningsevent in Grythyttan.