Consumers find stressed farmed fish as good as unstressed. However, it seems profitable for producers to meet increased demands for animal welfare, says in Morgunblaðið's coverage of Emilía Martinsdóttir's speech at Matís' autumn conference. It states that animal welfare and environmentally friendly food production have increasingly aroused public interest at the same time as emphasis has been placed on establishing regulations on aquaculture.
"One of the points of view that has been in the discussion is precisely the welfare of animals in aquaculture production. It is therefore important to investigate whether different treatment of fish in relation to animal welfare actually affects the taste and properties of the product. If that is the case, it could affect consumers, "says Morgunblaðið on Thursday 6 December.
He says that in the autumn of 2006, an extensive pan-European study was carried out as part of Matís' participation in the so-called SEAFOOD plus project, which is funded by the European Union. The aim was to examine whether farmed cod, which were produced with special regard to animal welfare on the one hand and produced in the traditional way on the other, had different quality characteristics. A consumer survey was also conducted to examine whether consumers had different tastes for these products and whether different information about the fire had an effect on how consumers liked products. Such information is important for those who fish, process products from farmed fish as well as sellers, "says an article in Morgunblaðið
It also says that in Iceland the survey was divided into two parts. "On the one hand, over one hundred people came to Matís and tasted Norwegian farmed cod, and on the other hand, about seventy families brought fish home to cook and taste. A similar survey was conducted among consumers in the Netherlands and Spain at the same time," says Morgunblaðin.
Farmed cod using conventional methods was found to have a flakier and softer texture, more reminiscent of wild fish, while farmed cod produced with special animal welfare considerations was found to have a meatier and chewier texture. The consumers who came to Matís to taste fish were told that the fish they were tasting was Norwegian farmed cod, but no information was provided about the production method. "This group of consumers found farmed cod produced using traditional methods to be better than cod produced with special consideration for animal welfare. Ideally, it was the texture and the smell, which they thought was better than the traditional farmed cod," says Morgunblaðin.