It is a well-known fact that aquatic food is good for human nutrition. However, in some cases, the species used for consumption may contain toxic components produced by microorganisms or contaminants in the water; or in other cases, viruses or organisms may cause diseases when the products are ingested. Product safety is thus always a concern for any processor of aquatic food. The present issue of the journal contains articles that consider either nutrition or safety, thus balancing both aspects. Rarely, a paper covers both sides, but in this issue, there is actually a paper that addresses the balance. It is about quality aspects of such a common species as Atlantic mackerel, which is considered to be one of the most nutritious of all species due to its high content of DHA in the lipid fraction. However, mackerel is also known to have high amounts of free amino acids, particularly histidine, which is converted to histimine by bacteria during storage. Other biogenic amines are converted from other amino acids. The changes in both lipids and biogenic amines during chilled and frozen storage of mackerel are covered in the same article.
A new public concern for seafood safety has emerged as microplastics have been highlighted by the media, and indeed, plastic contamination of the oceans is much higher than previously considered. The most visible clue is the occurrence of floating objects like plastic bottles or other easily observed plastic materials, and it is positive that cleaning the oceans of such items has received much attention. This, however, is a side effect, as such objects are what could be called ‘macro-plastics’. The microplastics are not visible to the human eye, making this fraction even more difficult to handle. Microplastics may result from mechanical disruption of the larger plastic pieces, but most of it originates from cosmetics or laundry products. The issue was covered in an earlier editorial in this journal (Vol. 24, 2015, issue 5, pp. 415–416), and a number of papers have occurred in the literature since, some of which are reviewed in a paper in the present issue of JAFPT. Very few studies have addressed the potential toxic effects in humans, but evidence of the occurrence of microplastics in marine organisms is accumulating.
Other articles in the present issue of the journal cover effects of processing aquatic food, optimizing nutritional contents, like using bone powder as a natural calcium source, or applying high pressure treatment for improving the physicochemical quality and safety of fish fillets. In the latter case, a farmed fish was studied, adding to the increasing number of studies on products originating from aquaculture. The amount of aquatic food being farmed is steadily increasing, which is necessary due to the fact that existing wild resources are close to their sustainable harvesting capacity. But attempts are also made to fish sustainably lower down the food web, of which another article, on the extraction of oils from Antarctic krill, is a good example. The phospholipids of this species are considered especially good for human nutrition.
It is a pleasure to observe that the processing times of most articles in the present issue of the journal have been very short, fulfilling the aim to shorten the time from submission to publishing. As this most likely will result in an increasing number of submissions, a steady high rejection rate will be retained, allowing only articles of the highest quality and reader interest to be published.