Development of Novel Food Products with Improved Health Benefits from Seal Byproducts

本提案旨在启动申请人与工业合作伙伴SeaDNA Canada Inc.之间的合作。**SeaDNA从事从海豹废料中加工和销售海豹肉制品，并寻求合作**以改进其现有食品并开发针对加拿大功能食品市场的新产品。**海豹是生活在大西洋最北端和北冰洋的海洋哺乳动物。从16世纪初到20世纪下半叶，加拿大东部的部分地区曾一度拥有繁荣而利润丰厚的海豹商业产业，而动物权利活动家将捕猎海豹描述为“不人道”的行为达到了顶峰。**反海豹运动导致欧盟国家和俄罗斯禁止从加拿大进口海豹；这对加拿大的海豹产业造成了严重的影响，包括收入和生计的损失，以及政府通过严格的法规来规范捕猎。尽管如此，自21世纪初以来，海豹的数量一直在爆炸式增长，种群规模一直稳定在800万只左右。海豹以各种高价值的鱼类为食，包括大西洋鳕鱼、格陵兰大比目鱼、虾和对虾；据说，这一迅速增长的鱼群是造成鳕鱼种群最近枯竭的原因之一。因此，将海豹丢弃物进行高价值利用将减轻对动物权利的担忧，允许以某种形式恢复海豹捕猎，保护鱼类资源，维持文化，创造就业机会，并保护环境。成年海豹长到5.5-6.5英尺长，重115-140公斤。这包括44%的胴体，29%的脂肪，18%的内脏和8%的毛皮/皮肤。毛皮/皮被用作覆盖物和皮革制品，但由于其颜色深，味道迅速变质，以及人们对其营养价值的普遍不了解，大部分动物并没有被广泛消费。在加拿大，从海豹尸体中提取的常见产品包括青贮饲料、动物饲料；在较小程度上，当地的食物，如鳍肉馅饼、海豹肉干和烟熏海豹肉。尽管如此，海豹肉是瘦肉（脂肪含量<3%）；富含优质蛋白质、n-3 PUFAs、MUFAs、矿物质和维生素。因此，加拿大功能食品部门可以从废弃产品中生产新产品；SeaDNA致力于为加拿大和国际市场生产此类保健食品。

This proposal is to initiate collaboration between the applicant and the industrial partner, SeaDNA Canada Inc.**SeaDNA is engaged in processing and sale of seal meat products from seal discards and seeks the collaboration**to improve its existing food products and develop new ones for the Canadian functional food products market.**Seals are marine mammals that inhabit the northernmost Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Parts of eastern Canada**used to boast a brisk and lucrative commercial seal industry in the early 1500s till the latter part of the 20th**century, when portrayal of the hunt as an "inhumane" practice by animal rights activists reached its peak.**Anti-sealing campaigns led to banning of seal imports from Canada by EU countries and Russia; causing dire**impacts on Canada's seal industry, in terms of loss of revenue and livelihood, and passing of strict government**rules to regulate the hunt. Nonetheless, the seal population has been exploding since the early 2000s, and the**herd size has been steady around 8 million animals. Seals feed on a variety of high-value fish species including**Atlantic cod, Greenland halibut, shrimps and prawns; and the booming herd is said to be contributing to the**recent depletion of cod stocks. Thus, putting seal discards to high-value use would alleviate animal rights**concerns, allow seal hunt to be restored in some form, protect fish stocks, sustain a culture, create jobs, and**protect the environment. The adult seal grows to 5.5-6.5 ft long and weighs 115-140 kg. This consists of 44%**carcass, 29% blubber, 18% viscera, and 8% pelt/skin. The pelt/skins are used as covering and leather products,**but the bulk of the animal is not widely consumed due to its dark color, rapid flavor deterioration, and a general**unawareness about its nutritive value. In Canada, common products derived from seal carcass include silage,**animal feed; and to a lesser extent, local foods such as flipper pies, seal jerky, and smoked seal meat.**Nonetheless, seal meat is lean (<3% fat); and rich in high quality proteins, n-3 PUFAs, MUFAs, minerals and**vitamins. Thus, new products can be produced from the discards for the Canadian functional foods sector; and**SeaDNA is dedicated to producing such health food products for the Canadian and international markets.