SEAFISH, the authority on seafood, is running a new project that could reduce the costs of shellfish waste disposal.

As these costs are estimated at £4 million annually, this project offers a significant cost reduction for seafood processors.

The project will test different types of shellfish against different shell cleaning methods to assess the extent to which they can be 'free of flesh', based on seven different types of shellfish and five different processing methods. This work will help processors reach the requirements of the Animal By-Products (ABP) Regulation and move to the development of a UK standard for the production of 'free of flesh' shell.  

The ABP Regulation classified shell as an animal by-product. Consequently, the number of permitted uses for shell reduced and the cost of its disposal increased. The review of the ABP Regulation provides an opportunity to have 'free of flesh' shell excluded from the scope of the regulation on the proviso that 'free of flesh' can be scientifically defined.

Michaela Archer, Seafish Project Manager, said: "At present, 'free of flesh' is taken to mean free from visible signs of flesh, but this is unreliable and no longer sufficient. The industry needs a robust and defined method of assessing 'free of flesh' shell to satisfy regulatory requirements, a requirement this project is designed to answer."