Herring milt to fight Malnutrition

Food products containing herring milt may in the future contribute to fighting malnutrition.

Up until the 1960s, English coalminers consumed products based on herring milt to stay healthy. Such products were also sold in Norway. However, this raw material from herring is not exploited today. Scientists and industry want to attempt to change this.

A new project, which is being funded by the Norwegian Fishermen’s Sales Organization for Pelagic Fish, is working to develop a powder product based on white corn and herring milt.

“Many people object to eating products based on milt, which is fish sperm, but think it’s fine to eat roe, which is fish eggs,” says Jan Pettersen, Senior Scientist at Nofima Ingredients.

“But the milt is extremely nutritious and can contribute to fighting malnutrition in areas where this is common.”

Herring milt has the ideal composition as an additive to food in developing countries, as it contains high levels of many of the nutrients missing in the food.

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