The scientists constituting this group have complementary backgrounds, covering mainly biology, biochemistry, veterinary, risk benefit assessment, quality, safety and engineering sciences, to develop interdisciplinary studies aiming to:
- Characterize the quality and assure chemical and biological safety of seafood
- Develop sustainable seafood products for human consumption.
Team expertise has been gathered through the development of solutions to improve the different quality dimensions through collaborative research on farmed and wild seafood and their respective processed products. Aspects covered include: (i) knowledge about the impact of preservation and processing technologies on quality and safety; (ii) inputs for the reliability and traceability of the seafood supply chain, namely the avoidance of fraud and identification of intentionally or unintentionally added substances; (iii) identification/study of new marine contaminant sources and impacts of climate changes on quality and safety; (iv) participate in the design of new solutions (e.g, sensors) to assess the safety and quality of seafood; (v) perceive the actual consumer´s seafood demand; (vi) development of products for the different segments of population; and (vii) seafood risk benefit evaluation. The group has experience in the involvement of end users, including farmers, processors, consumers, public authorities and society.