Search

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. The aquaculture sector in some Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of white fish and shrimp, especially during the past five years. Within the Asian region CBI is currently developing an integrated programme for the seafood sector. For the development of this programme, a good understanding of the supply and de-mand side of the industry is necessary. In order to investigate whether it is advisable for CBI to invest in a programme to support further export growth of the seafood sectors of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, additional research is needed.

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. Over the period 2005-2010 in par-ticular, the aquaculture sector in some Asian countries became an important producer as well as exporter of whitefish and shrimps. Within the Asian region CBI is currently studying the possibilities of developing in-tegrated programmes for the seafood sector for specific countries. This follows up on CBI’s current sea-food activities in Indonesia with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF) and the Surabaya Seafood Centre.

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the EU market. The aquaculture sector in some Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of white fish and shrimp, especially during the past five years. Within the Asian region CBI is currently developing an integrated programme for the seafood sector. For the development of this programme, a good understanding of the supply and de-mand side of the industry is necessary. In order to investigate whether it is advisable for CBI to invest in a programme to support further export growth of the seafood sectors of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, additional research is needed.

The Asian region is a major supplier of fish products to the European market. The aquaculture sector in a number of Asian countries has become an important producer as well as exporter of various captured and cultured seafood products. Since Myanmar is in a transition to democracy and the EU decided to remove most sanctions to fuel economic development, Myanmar is very interesting for the European seafood industry. The Dutch Centre for the Promotion of Import from Developing Countries (CBI) and LEI Wageningen UR decided to conduct this quick scan to analyse the EU market potential of the seafood sector in Myanmar.

This book reviews the research on seafood and health, the use and quality aspects of marine lipids and seafood proteins as ingredients in functional foods and consumer acceptance of (marine) functional food. The first chapter covers novel merging areas where seafood may prevent disease and improve health such as in cognitive development, mental health, cancer, allergy and oxidative stress are highlighted. Cases where nutrients in seafood may have health protective effects such as in proteins, peptides, amino acids, selenium, chitosan, glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate are also discussed. The next chapters cover quality aspects of marine lipids and seafood proteins as ingredients in functional foods. Lipids and proteins must have and retain a high quality so that the sensory and functional properties and the shelf life of the final product are acceptable. The methods used for processing marine lipids and proteins, are discussed as well as the different factors that can affect their quality in functional foods. The book then concentrates on factors related to consumers' attitudes, knowledge and awareness of functional foods. There are variations in types of carrier products and of demographic and cross-cultural factors in acceptance of functional foods. Finally, the book discusses challenges for small and medium enterprises to commercialise healthy nutrition. Variations in characteristics, capabilities, challenges and opportunities in the marketplace are presented using a Nordic study as reference.

This book reviews the research on seafood and health, the use and quality aspects of marine lipids and seafood proteins as ingredients in functional foods and consumer acceptance of (marine) functional food. The first chapter covers novel merging areas where seafood may prevent disease and improve health such as in cognitive development, mental health, cancer, allergy and oxidative stress are highlighted. Cases where nutrients in seafood may have health protective effects such as in proteins, peptides, amino acids, selenium, chitosan, glucosamine and chondroitin sulphate are also discussed. The next chapters cover quality aspects of marine lipids and seafood proteins as ingredients in functional foods. Lipids and proteins must have and retain a high quality so that the sensory and functional properties and the shelf life of the final product are acceptable. The methods used for processing marine lipids and proteins, are discussed as well as the different factors that can affect their quality in functional foods. The book then concentrates on factors related to consumers' attitudes, knowledge and awareness of functional foods. There are variations in types of carrier products and of demographic and cross-cultural factors in acceptance of functional foods. Finally, the book discusses challenges for small and medium enterprises to commercialise healthy nutrition. Variations in characteristics, capabilities, challenges and opportunities in the marketplace are presented using a Nordic study as reference.

Following ‘Doi Moi’ (Renovation), which started in 1986, the former centrally planned economy in Vietnam is shifting to an economy where production is linked to market demand and consumption. As a result, the nation has been enjoying an unprecedentedly fast economic growth, especially in recent years: 8.4% in 2005 and 8.17% in 2006. The economic renovation also brought an expansion of the private sector, which consists mainly of small- and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. The reform process has also positively influenced agriculture, which is an important sector of the national economy. These changes have resulted in a strong growth of Vietnamese SMEs, especially in the agro-food and related fields. Although recognized as a very important sector, the small- and medium-sized agro-industries, SMAIs have high environmental costs. Since a large number of SMAIs operate amidst residential neighbourhoods in urban areas, they not only contribute to urban pollution but also cause severe nuisance to the surrounding residents by discharging their untreated solid, liquid and gaseous emissions. Furthermore, the public has expressed concerns recently that the poor environmental performance of SMAIs may (in)directly influence the safety of food. During the last few years, the Government of Vietnam has worked hard to protect the environment and to mitigate adverse environmental impacts caused by fast economic development. But the current environmental management system, based on a solid command-and-control style, has not been able to cope with the situation. In an attempt to contribute to a sustainable development strategy for the country, this thesis aims to evaluate the current situation and to design approaches that would eco-modernise the existing small- and medium-sized agro-industries in Vietnam. As such, the main objective of the thesis is to answer three central research questions: (1) what are the current contributions of SMAIs to environmental problems in Vietnam?, (2) how can the environmental performance of Vietnamese SMAIs be improved?, and (3) what role can the relevant Vietnamese actors play in such environmental reform strategies? The ideas of the Ecological Modernisation Theory, EMT, were employed as the main theoretical framework for this research. These ideas help us to analyse how to deal with environmental issues which have increasingly become problematic as a result of the recent fast industrial and economic development. With an EMT framework, current available theories and techniques for environmental protection (at industries) were systematically analyzed. They include pollution control, pollution prevention/cleaner production and industrial ecology. Although these approaches were developed as an evolution towards solving the environmental consequences of industrial development, they all have both advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, although the most recent approaches appear to be the most advanced ones, none of them have ever fully rejected the others. In fact, a combination of (most of) them, seems to be useful. A methodology was developed in this dissertation for analyzing and designing the eco-modernization of existing SMAIs, using the main principles of industrial ecology, IE. The methodology focuses on both technical aspects and institutional (re)arrangements and leads to a “closed material cycle model”. Regarding the technical side, the model consists of two levels: (1) the enterprise level and (2) the enterprise-expanded level; and it encompasses three components of environmental performance improvement: (1) the intra-enterprise measures, which consist of mainly source reduction and on-site recycling, (2) the intra-extra enterprise measures, which include mainly (off-site) recycling and/or (on-site) reuse, and (3) the further use of the remaining residues by other industries and/or entities/activities. Regarding the institutional aspects a network analysis – assessing the role of economic, policy and societal networks – was applied, relating designed environmental improvement options to actors configurations. The developed methodology was applied in three SMAI sub-sectors: animal slaughtering, tanning and seafood processing. A multiple case study strategy was employed for this research. After a general study of each of the sub-sectors, six case study enterprises were selected from each sub-sector for in-depth research. Furthermore, one case study from each studied sub-sector was selected for further in-depth research with empirical experiments on closing the material cycles. Moreover, actor networks that embed the case study companies were analyzed to identify their role in promoting the developed environmental options and models. As a result, shortcomings in implementing environmental reforms were identified. The identification of these weaknesses helped to make sound recommendations for institutional rearrangements of future systems leading towards successful eco-modernizing of the SMAIs. As a result of the empirical research the central research questions were answered. Firstly, it has become clear that the current environmental performance of the SMAI sector in Vietnam is poor. This poor performance not only contributes to the degradation of the environment but also (in)directly relates to the issues of food safety. Secondly, the application of an integrated methodology based on the principles of pollution prevention/cleaner production and especially industrial ecology proved to be successful in helping the SMAIs to improve their environmental performance by creating a “closed material cycle” model. Thirdly, through a network analysis, the role of the relevant actors in environmental reform was clarified. Most economic actors do not play an active and “positive” role towards facilitating the implementation of developed environmental improvement model, and the societal network actors are also quite passive. In addition, a number of shortcomings in the policy networks regarding the environmental reform were revealed. Although the role of branch associations was identified as crucial for environmental reform, these either do not exist (in the case of slaughtering industry) or they focus only on the economic interests of their members. Capacity strengthening – both at the individual and the organizational level – is urgently needed as part of a political modernization process, but this has to be coupled with raising environmental awareness and knowledge among the public in general. The empirical research within this study has proved that the idea of industrial ecology can be applied for improving environmental performance of the existing SMAIs by adding well designed options. In other words, industrial ecology fits not only new industrial establishments by carefully designing waste reuse, recycling or exchange, but can also fit existing (agro-)industrial units by (wisely) re-designing their waste flow for the purpose of recycling and/or reuse. Last but not least, recommendations for further research have been made. Firstly, from the point of view of sustainable production and consumption, research could be carried out to elaborate on the production-consumption chain for the SMAIs. This work would help to quantify the contribution and role of each actor in the chain. Furthermore, the applicability and extent of industrial ecology could further be studied for SMEs of other industrial sectors in Vietnam. Finally, comparative studies are recommended to be carried out on environmental reform of the same industrial sub-sectors in similar economic conditions but in different geographical, cultural and political-institutional settings. These studies could help to make the EMT more valuable throughout the developing world.

Following ‘Doi Moi’ (Renovation), which started in 1986, the former centrally planned economy in Vietnam is shifting to an economy where production is linked to market demand and consumption. As a result, the nation has been enjoying an unprecedentedly fast economic growth, especially in recent years: 8.4% in 2005 and 8.17% in 2006. The economic renovation also brought an expansion of the private sector, which consists mainly of small- and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. The reform process has also positively influenced agriculture, which is an important sector of the national economy. These changes have resulted in a strong growth of Vietnamese SMEs, especially in the agro-food and related fields. Although recognized as a very important sector, the small- and medium-sized agro-industries, SMAIs have high environmental costs. Since a large number of SMAIs operate amidst residential neighbourhoods in urban areas, they not only contribute to urban pollution but also cause severe nuisance to the surrounding residents by discharging their untreated solid, liquid and gaseous emissions. Furthermore, the public has expressed concerns recently that the poor environmental performance of SMAIs may (in)directly influence the safety of food. During the last few years, the Government of Vietnam has worked hard to protect the environment and to mitigate adverse environmental impacts caused by fast economic development. But the current environmental management system, based on a solid command-and-control style, has not been able to cope with the situation. In an attempt to contribute to a sustainable development strategy for the country, this thesis aims to evaluate the current situation and to design approaches that would eco-modernise the existing small- and medium-sized agro-industries in Vietnam. As such, the main objective of the thesis is to answer three central research questions: (1) what are the current contributions of SMAIs to environmental problems in Vietnam?, (2) how can the environmental performance of Vietnamese SMAIs be improved?, and (3) what role can the relevant Vietnamese actors play in such environmental reform strategies? The ideas of the Ecological Modernisation Theory, EMT, were employed as the main theoretical framework for this research. These ideas help us to analyse how to deal with environmental issues which have increasingly become problematic as a result of the recent fast industrial and economic development. With an EMT framework, current available theories and techniques for environmental protection (at industries) were systematically analyzed. They include pollution control, pollution prevention/cleaner production and industrial ecology. Although these approaches were developed as an evolution towards solving the environmental consequences of industrial development, they all have both advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, although the most recent approaches appear to be the most advanced ones, none of them have ever fully rejected the others. In fact, a combination of (most of) them, seems to be useful. A methodology was developed in this dissertation for analyzing and designing the eco-modernization of existing SMAIs, using the main principles of industrial ecology, IE. The methodology focuses on both technical aspects and institutional (re)arrangements and leads to a “closed material cycle model”. Regarding the technical side, the model consists of two levels: (1) the enterprise level and (2) the enterprise-expanded level; and it encompasses three components of environmental performance improvement: (1) the intra-enterprise measures, which consist of mainly source reduction and on-site recycling, (2) the intra-extra enterprise measures, which include mainly (off-site) recycling and/or (on-site) reuse, and (3) the further use of the remaining residues by other industries and/or entities/activities. Regarding the institutional aspects a network analysis – assessing the role of economic, policy and societal networks – was applied, relating designed environmental improvement options to actors configurations. The developed methodology was applied in three SMAI sub-sectors: animal slaughtering, tanning and seafood processing. A multiple case study strategy was employed for this research. After a general study of each of the sub-sectors, six case study enterprises were selected from each sub-sector for in-depth research. Furthermore, one case study from each studied sub-sector was selected for further in-depth research with empirical experiments on closing the material cycles. Moreover, actor networks that embed the case study companies were analyzed to identify their role in promoting the developed environmental options and models. As a result, shortcomings in implementing environmental reforms were identified. The identification of these weaknesses helped to make sound recommendations for institutional rearrangements of future systems leading towards successful eco-modernizing of the SMAIs. As a result of the empirical research the central research questions were answered. Firstly, it has become clear that the current environmental performance of the SMAI sector in Vietnam is poor. This poor performance not only contributes to the degradation of the environment but also (in)directly relates to the issues of food safety. Secondly, the application of an integrated methodology based on the principles of pollution prevention/cleaner production and especially industrial ecology proved to be successful in helping the SMAIs to improve their environmental performance by creating a “closed material cycle” model. Thirdly, through a network analysis, the role of the relevant actors in environmental reform was clarified. Most economic actors do not play an active and “positive” role towards facilitating the implementation of developed environmental improvement model, and the societal network actors are also quite passive. In addition, a number of shortcomings in the policy networks regarding the environmental reform were revealed. Although the role of branch associations was identified as crucial for environmental reform, these either do not exist (in the case of slaughtering industry) or they focus only on the economic interests of their members. Capacity strengthening – both at the individual and the organizational level – is urgently needed as part of a political modernization process, but this has to be coupled with raising environmental awareness and knowledge among the public in general. The empirical research within this study has proved that the idea of industrial ecology can be applied for improving environmental performance of the existing SMAIs by adding well designed options. In other words, industrial ecology fits not only new industrial establishments by carefully designing waste reuse, recycling or exchange, but can also fit existing (agro-)industrial units by (wisely) re-designing their waste flow for the purpose of recycling and/or reuse. Last but not least, recommendations for further research have been made. Firstly, from the point of view of sustainable production and consumption, research could be carried out to elaborate on the production-consumption chain for the SMAIs. This work would help to quantify the contribution and role of each actor in the chain. Furthermore, the applicability and extent of industrial ecology could further be studied for SMEs of other industrial sectors in Vietnam. Finally, comparative studies are recommended to be carried out on environmental reform of the same industrial sub-sectors in similar economic conditions but in different geographical, cultural and political-institutional settings. These studies could help to make the EMT more valuable throughout the developing world.

In this book, scientists from various disciplines address the advances in seafood research with respect to quality, safety, consumer’s demands and processing of wild and farmed fish. The nutritional properties of marine lipids and lipid oxidation from model systems to seafood are presented. Several contributions on the effects of natural anti-oxidants to prevent oxidation are also included. Effects of dietary factors on muscle tissue quality, pre-rigor processing and brining of farmed cod are covered. The development of rigor mortis and the quality of muscle in relation to commercial and experimental slaughter techniques are also discussed. Consumer’s knowledge, perception and need for information about seafood are discussed. Topics such as shelf life and microbial quality of seafood are covered in a range of contributions. Inactivation of micro organisms or biopreservation of seafood are included. Attention is paid to the development of the Quality Index Method for the evaluation of the quality of fresh fish and products. The characterisation and the quality of processed by-products are also presented. The presence of trace elements and organic contaminants in variety of seafood products is highlighted. Finally, several contributions regarding advanced methodologies to determine the quality of seafood are presented.

In this book, scientists from various disciplines address the advances in seafood research with respect to quality, safety, consumer’s demands and processing of wild and farmed fish. The nutritional properties of marine lipids and lipid oxidation from model systems to seafood are presented. Several contributions on the effects of natural anti-oxidants to prevent oxidation are also included. Effects of dietary factors on muscle tissue quality, pre-rigor processing and brining of farmed cod are covered. The development of rigor mortis and the quality of muscle in relation to commercial and experimental slaughter techniques are also discussed. Consumer’s knowledge, perception and need for information about seafood are discussed. Topics such as shelf life and microbial quality of seafood are covered in a range of contributions. Inactivation of micro organisms or biopreservation of seafood are included. Attention is paid to the development of the Quality Index Method for the evaluation of the quality of fresh fish and products. The characterisation and the quality of processed by-products are also presented. The presence of trace elements and organic contaminants in variety of seafood products is highlighted. Finally, several contributions regarding advanced methodologies to determine the quality of seafood are presented.

The aim of this research was to define sensory quality, and determine how this can be measured, at each point where quality decision-making is carried out in the chain of seafood handling from catch or slaughter to consumer. This was carried out by taking interviews with the industry to obtain knowledge about their sensory quality evaluation procedures and the descriptive terms they used. In four different countries, Ireland, Iceland, Denmark and The Netherlands, 8-17 companies throughout the fish production chain were selected.