Faculty of Food Technology & Biotechnology

Department of Food Engineering

The Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology University of Zagreb provides undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate education in Food Technology, Biotechnology and Nutrition Science, which is based on scientific, fundamental, applicative and developmental research carried out in one of five Departments.

The Laboratory for Meat and Fish Technology operates within the Department of Food Engineering. The Department uses semi-industrial practice laboratory, and a central chemical and instrumental laboratory equipped with all the necessary equipment for its research. The main activities of the Laboratory for Meat and Fish Technology are the education of students in acquiring knowledge and skills, and research in the field of technology, quality and hygiene of foods of animal origin.
    

The mission of the Seafood Unit within the Laboratory for Meat and Fish Technology is to improve seafood through:

• Research and Development

Our focus is on applying spectroscopic methods in quality control of seafood. We are mainly working with the impedance and Raman spectroscopy for freshness and shelf-life assessment of chilled and frozen fish with the aim of developing fast, non-invasive and precise methodologies for quality assessment of seafood. The Laboratory is equipped with modern analytical equipment and all necessary instrumentation for quality control of seafood such as total volatile nitrogen (TVB), trimethylamine (TMA), histamine determination, K-value, fatty acid content, pH value, peroxide value, TBARS, indices related to denaturation of proteins, total viable count, texture analysis using a modern texture analyser system, colour analysis and aw.

• Extension Service to both the Fishing and Fish Processing Industry

In addition to scientific activities, the Laboratory has developed significant cooperation with the fish industry to solve various processing/quality problems, develop new products and improve current practices. Our aim is to help the industry to successfully overcome new challenges such as sustainability issues and climate change.  Current projects include studying the Influence of anthropogenic activities in fish farms on quality of seabass and seabream, and  Optimization of fishing activities for enhancing the quality of small pelagic fish.