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Nature in Singapore, 15, 1-3

The objective of this study was to investigate the possibility of using jellyfish (Lobonema smithii) for the production of nutritionally improved crackers. In this study, ground jellyfish were incorporated into different levels (20, 30, and 40%) to replace wheat flour in cracker formula. Physicochemical characteristics (linear expansion, hardness, and color) and sensory quality of the developed crackers were examined and compared with control crackers. The crackers with jellyfish were found significantly darker, with more brittleness, and less consumer accepted than the control samples (p < 0.05). Moisture content, aw, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS)-values of jellyfish crackers increased while the hardness of the jellyfish crackers decreased with increasing the storage time for both crackers stored at 35 and 45°C. The substitution of wheat flour with jellyfish led to high protein content in the crackers. The cracker with 30% of jellyfish gained characteristics of cracker, liking scores, as well as the subjective quality of the final product and had good physical and chemical conditions, being able to be consumed for 12 weeks stored at 35°C.

This study describes the set-up and optimization of a fermentation strategy applied to a composite raw material containing jellyfish biomass as the principal ingredient. New fermented food was developed by combining fresh jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo and the sequential solid-state submerged liquid fermentation method used in Asian countries for processing a high-salt-containing raw material. Aspergillus oryzae was used to drive the first fermentation, conducted in solid-state conditions, of a jellyfish-based product, here named Jelly paste. The second fermentation was performed by inoculating the Jelly paste with different selected bacteria and yeasts, leading to a final product named fermented Jellyfish paste. For the first time, a set of safety parameters necessary for monitoring and describing a jellyfish-based fermented food was established. The new fermented products obtained by the use of Debaryomyces hansenii BC T3-23 yeast strain and the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens MS3 bacterial strain revealed desirable nutritional traits in terms of protein, lipids and total phenolic content, as well as valuable total antioxidant activity. The obtained final products also showed a complex enzyme profile rich in amylase, protease and lipase activities, thus making them characterized by unique composite sensory odor descriptors (umami, smoked, dried fruit, spices).