Abstract
The increase in the global population demands more biomass from the ocean as future food and feed, and the mesopelagic species might contribute significantly. In the present study, we evaluated the food and feed safety of six of the most abundant mesopelagic species in Norwegian fjords. Trace elements (i.e., arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead), organic pollutants (i.e., dioxins, furans, dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, and polybrominated flame-retardants), and potentially problematic lipid compounds (i.e., wax esters and erucic acid) were analyzed and compared to existing food and feed maximum levels and intake recommendations. Furthermore, contaminant loads in processed mesopelagic biomass (protein, oil, and fish meal) was estimated using worst-case scenarios to identify possible food and feed safety issues. While most undesirables were low considering European food legislation, we identified a few potential food safety issues regarding high levels of fluoride in Northern krill, wax esters in glacier lanternfish, and long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids in silvery lightfish. Our estimates in processed biomass indicated high levels of undesirable trace elements in the protein fraction, frequently exceeding the maximum levels for feed ingredients. However, in fish meal, almost no exceedances were seen. In the oil fraction, dioxins and furans were above the maximum levels, given for food and feed ingredients. The present study is crucial to enable an evaluation of the value of these species; however, more data is needed before proceeding with large-scale harvesting of mesopelagic biomass.
Highlights
The global population is predicted to increase to 9.6 billion by 2050, demanding global food production to grow by 60%
We analyzed the contaminants in mesopelagic biomass on the species level
Our data showed a large variation in a load of undesirables of the species, and the contaminant load of a catch would vary
Summary
The global population is predicted to increase to 9.6 billion by 2050, demanding global food production to grow by 60% Mesopelagic organisms are a prominent, almost totally unexploited resource They are globally distributed and inhabit the ocean waters between 200 and 1000 m of depth. They are assumed to be one of the world’s largest unexploited resources, with stock estimates of mesopelagic fish ranging from approximately one to ten billion metric tons [4–6]. In addition to fish species, the mesopelagic community contains potentially exploitable species of crustaceans, jellyfish, and cephalopods Due to their extended deep-water zones, Norwegian fjords are a promising habitat for mesopelagic species, and it has been shown that considerable nutrient-dense biomass can be found there. The contents of the analyzed contaminants in the protein concentrate fraction and marine oil fraction were roughly estimated using simple assumptions to enable the identification of possible food and feed risks
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