Waste to Food: Valorization of Shrimp Head Wastes

Rationale/Background of the Study

The shrimp aquaculture industry significantly contributes to the global economy where the Philippines is a major player (Vergel, 2017). In fact the Philippines ranks 6th as the largest shrimp producer worldwide (DOST-PCAARRD, 2016). In 2013 alone, the country exported 202 million kg of shrimps amounting to US$ 558 million. The export products are either processed as frozen shrimp which is either head-on or headless, and un-shelled or shelled (DTI website). Unfortunately, commercial shrimp processing produces a large volume of waste since only 25% (w/w) of the live shrimp is recovered as meat (Gildberg and Stenberg, 2001). This problem is so apparent that there have been several studies on the valorization potential of shrimp waste. Among these are the extraction of chitosan (Santos et al., 2020), production of feeds (Coward-kelly et al., 2006) and fish meal (Nargis et al., 2020) and shrimp biscuits (Khan and Nowsad, 2012). These valorization technologies however have not been exploited. Case in point, a processor in Cebu has to dispose of shrimp head wastes at a local landfill by tonnage at a fee of PhP 1,800 per ton (Perscomm J. Oquinena). Among the difficulties in adapting these available technologies is the necessity to adapt the process at an industrial scale such as feed production and chitosan extraction (Coward-kelly et al., 2006; Nargis et al., 2020; Santos et al., 2020). Furthermore, it has been shown that the extraction of chitosan is not efficient since the process produces more chemical waste (Coward-kelly et al., 2006; Santos et al., 2020). Meanwhile, shrimp biscuits were developed in Bangladesh at a laboratory scale (Khan and Nowsad, 2012) however the acceptability of this product has not been ventured in the Philippines. On the other hand, shrimp crackers (colloquially referred to as kropek) made of shrimp meat is widely accepted in the country. The valorization of shrimp heads into this type of snack has yet to be explored.

Objectives

It is therefore the objective of this study to alleviate the pressure the shrimp processing industry puts on local landfills by diverting the waste into a nutritious product and at the same time develop a livelihood program that is easy and viable.

Specifically, this study aims to do the following:

1. Develop a recipe for shrimp crackers from shrimp head wastes.
2. Develop a nutritious and safe product from shrimp head waste.
3. Establish the financial viability of the product fit for small scale enterprising.

Determine the volume of shrimp head waste that can be used to produce a specific volume of product.