Susan Marshall: new seafood products – it’s all in the molecules
12 Nov 2020
Dr Susan Marshall is an industrial biochemist. Her research focuses on developing new high-value products from biological raw materials using only green processing technologies. This has included researching new manufacturing options for by-products of meat and seafood processing. “It’s the right thing to do. If you can maximise the value you get from an animal you should”, she says.
Since joining Plant & Food Research in 2003 Susan has worked across shellfish, finfish, seaweed, wild capture and aquaculture. “I’m really interested in the molecules in marine organisms. I want to understand how we can get them out and how we can utilise them in new ways”, Susan says. “We use differences in the properties of molecules to separate them from each other. The biggest challenge in achieving our goal of 100% utilisation is how to extract one without destroying the others”.
Research takes Susan from the lab to pilot plants and factories in the seafood industry. “It’s one thing to achieve something in the lab but when you take it to a factory it’s a different story. That’s where science meets commercial reality. I enjoy the collaboration and ingenuity of the diverse range of people I get to work with, from scientists through to factory workers and company managers. Working together we can devise really practical science-based solutions that deliver the products their markets want, along with processes that suit the size and needs of their organisation”.
“Solving processing problems and contributing to new products not only increases choices for the consumer and creates jobs but, more importantly, it means higher industry revenues without more fish. It’s nice to look back see how far our industry has come”, says Susan.
There is still lots to understand about New Zealand’s biological marine resources with more than 100 commercial species. “Marine animals are fascinating, they’re all so different to each other, not just what they look like but also at a molecular level. There’s been very little research in terms of the composition and bioactivity so there’s plenty of scope for us to continue making a contribution to science knowledge and industry growth.”
