Program 2 (Product and Market Development) Seafood Health Research Projects |
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2007/711 - Review of health benefit research and development (supplier) 2007/713 - Review to identify capability in functional foods research 2007/714 - A functional foods strategy 2008/720 - A community intervention approach to increasing seafood consumption _______________________________________ |
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A Review of Health Benefit Research and Development (Supplier) Project Number - 2007/711 Start Date - 7th September 2007 End Date - 2nd November 2007 Principal Investigator - Associate Professor Alexandra McManus Research Provider - Curtin University CRC Research End User - Australian Seafood CRC
About the Project This project consists of a critical review to investigate the capacity needs, health benefits research and development issues and opportunities for collaboration and co-funding. Project Objectives 1. Identify which organisations, institutions and spokespeople are currently providing information on seafood health benefits and the level of credibility that those organisations and institutions have (also undertake an initial assessment of their capacities and relevance to the seafood industry). 2. Assess the availability of trained people to develop the resources and to deliver health benefits information to the target audiences. 3. Detail the work that has been done to document the health benefits of seafood. 4. Identify the work that has been done on how communication of health benefits can, and does change consumer behaviour, particularly those in target groups (young, older people, pregnant women and specific condition sectors). 5. Identify the barriers to and drivers for the use of seafood benefits information. 6. Identify current communication material used to disseminate health benefits information to target groups whilst considering the strengths and weaknesses of these. 7. Identify the appropriate delivery frameworks for health benefits information and detail any specific requirements for these. 8. Document the FSANZ requirements for health benefit claims in plain English. 9. Detail the gaps in justifications needed for product health benefit claims. 10. Establish the CRC end user priorities for research and development needed for justifying product health benefit claims. ____________________________________________________ |
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Review to Identify Capability in Functional Foods Research Project Number - 2007/713 Start Date - 15th October 2007 End Date - 2nd November 2007 Principal Investigator - Professor Linda Tapsell Research Provider - University of Wollongong CRC Research End User - Australian Seafood CRC
About the Project This project consists of a review on the potential for a functional food strategy within the Seafood CRC's Health Benefits of Seafood program. Project Objectives 1. Determine which organisations, institutions and spokespeople are currently providing information on functional foods and the level of credibility that those organisations and institutions have. 2. Determine the work in the area of functional foods that has been done to date in relation to seafoods, including the potential for research into products within specified target groups (i.e. young people, older people, pregnant women and specific disease condition sectors). 3. Identify potential opportunities for collaboration nationally and internationally with industry, governments, national government organisations and research and development organisations for the development of functional foods based on seafoods. ____________________________________________________ |
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Project Number - 2007/714 Start Date - 10th September 2007 End Date - 2nd November 2007 Principal Investigator - Professor Lynne Cobiac Research Provider - Flinders University CRC Research End User - Australian Seafood CRC
About the Project This project consists of a review of the health benefits research and development support needs for the Australian Seafood CRC and provide guidance on investment in this area. Project Objectives 1. Detail the work that has been done to document the health benefits of seafood. 2. Document the FSANZ requirements for health benefit in plain English. 3. Detail the gaps in justifications needed for product health benefit claims. 4. Establish the CRC end-user priorities for research and development needed for justifying product health benefit claims. 5. Identify potential opportunities for collaboration nationally and internationally with industry, governments, national government organisations and research and development organisations. 6. Identify potential alternative and collaborative funding partners. ____________________________________________________ |
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Increased Erythrocyte Omega-3 Fatty Acid Profiles and Health Status in Adults Through Increased Consumption of Canned Tuna Project Number - 2008/703 Start Date - 15th January 2007 End Date - 30th June 2008 Principal Investigator - Dr Mario Klingler Research Provider - University of South Australia CRC Research End User - Simplot Australia
About the Project As market leader in sales of canned fish in Australia (through the John West brand), the prime objective for Simplot is to ensure a continued growth by keeping key existing categories relevant and attractive to customers and consumers. Health is one of the key drivers of consumer demand for canned fish and this research will assist in providing relevant health messages to inform consumers of the importance of including canned fish in their diet. This will be achieved by demonstrating that regular consumption of John West canned fish can lead to long-term increases of long chain omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3) into erythrocytes which are consistent with an improved health status. Consumer awareness of omega-3 is increasing, which is reflected in increasing sales figures of omega-3 supplements in Australia. A reason for the success of the supplement market might be that almost all studies highlighting the health benefits of omega-3 are related to fish oil supplements, but very little research has been done in the area of processed seafood. The follow-up study is a unique approach to determine the bioavailability of omega-3 in canned fish; it will promote processed fish as an alternative to Project Objectives 1. Demonstrate that regular consumption of canned fish leads to long-term increases in incorporation of long chain omega-3 fatty acids into erythrocytes. ____________________________________________________ |
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A Community Intervention Approach to Increasing Seafood Consumption Project Number - 2008/720 Start Date - 1st July 2008 End Date - 3rd December 2011 Principal Investigator - Assoc Prof Alexandra McManus Research Provider - Curtin University and the Department of Fisheries, Western Australia CRC Research End User - All CRC Participants
About the Project There is a need to overcome the barriers to seafood consumption, particularly those cited in the general seafood consumption and the peri-natal seafood consumption studies. Establishing regular seafood consumption as a healthy, cost effective dietary option has the potential to impact upon short and long-term health, both in the general population and in those with specific health conditions. This study aims to develop strategies to increase seafood consumption by targeting specific sectors of the population (e.g. children, consumers) and groups with specific health conditions (e.g. pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, obesity). The project should result in increased seafood consumption with concomitant increases in value for the seafood industry. Resources will be initially developed at a state level with the potential to be extended nationally through existing links. Project Objectives 1. To conduct a systematic review and gap analysis to: a) inform the development of industry guidelines around health messages and seafood and b) identify research gaps and priorities in 2. To develop, implement and evaluate a series of targeted seafood health benefits communication resources for educational institutions, medical professions and their clients, seafood consumers and members of the seafood industry. 3. To develop and evaluate a seafood health benefits skills set for incorporation into relevant vocational training packages administered through the Tertiary and Further Education institutions (TAFE). 4. To trial and evaluate the seafood health benefits communication resources developed in a single community to determine whether seafood consumption in that community is significantly altered through access to the developed resources. ____________________________________________________ |
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Development of a Healthy High Australian Seafood Diet that will be Acceptable to Women of Child Bearing Age: The Australian Seafood Diet for Intergenerational Health Project Number - 2008/731 Start Date - 28th July 2008 End Date - 28th July 2011 Principal Investigator - Professor Lynne Cobiac Research Provider - Flinders University CRC Research End User - South Australian Health Service About the Project Consumers are advised to eat more fish in order to experience a range of health benefits but there are some caveats on these recommendations for some sub-groups of the population, such as those women who are pregnant, are thinking of becoming pregnant or who are breastfeeding. Pregnant women are advised to keep eating fish but to limit the intakes of Sea Perch, Catfish Shark, Swordfish, Marlin or Broadbill to once a week or fortnight for the purposes of avoiding contaminants that may be damaging to the developing foetus. Estimated intakes of fish by Australian women is already very low What is needed is a healthy high Australian seafood diet to be formulated, using a range of seafoods including unprocessed or processed seafoods. Including processed seafood will help to overcome potential barriers to consumption linked to inconvenience in preparing fresh seafoods. There is also a Project Objectives 1. To undertake a literature/data-base review of Australian fish compositional data. 2. To undertake n-3 fatty acid and methyl mercury analyses in selected samples where gaps in data exist. 3. To conduct a computer modelling approach to determine theoretical high seafood diet that included a wide variety of raw, cooked, unprocessed and processed Australian seafood that could achieve desirable biological levels of n-3 fatty acids/ 4. To conduct a human intervention study to investigate biological effects and levels of methyl mercury achieved in a representative sample of women of child bearing age. 5. To explore interactions between methyl mercury and other dietary components such as selenium or dietary fibre. _________________________________________________ This page was last updated: 3rd October 2008 |
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