Innovative Peru: eco-friendly cans of paiche and other Amazonian fish to be produced

Using Amazonian fish such as paiche, paco, gamitana, boquichico and doncella as raw materials, entrepreneurs in the Ucayali region are to produce eco-friendly canned foods, which will meet sanitary registration requirements and comply with quality standards, as well as reaching several markets in the Peruvian capital.

These canned foods will also have typical products from the region such as: ají charapita, ají dulce, sachaculantro, cocona, black pepper and local tomatoes, enabling the region's fish farmers to offer better quality products, improve their profitability and coordinate the productive chain with micro entrepreneurs and farmers.

All this will be possible through the sub-project called "Innovating the line of canned Amazonian fish farming products for the Peruvian market, under an eco-friendly concept".

The sub-project will have the support of the CITE network at the Technological Institute of Production (ITP), under the Ministry of Production, through CITE Pesquero Amazónico Pucallpa, and will be supervised by specialists from CITE Pesquero Callao, which has first class technological equipment.

Other uses

Various jungle communities have learned to make use of all of the paiche. For example, the scales are used to make handicrafts such as leaves, artificial flowers, dream catchers, and adornments for typical clothing. This fish has a unique, bony tongue which is used for scratching yucca and the guaraná sticks that are obtained from the roasted and ground grains from the plant of the same name.

CITE Pesquero Amazónico Pucallpa and the Lima Center for Productive Innovation and Technology Transfer of Leather, Footwear and Related Industries ('Centro de Innovación Productiva y Transferencia Tecnológica del Cuero, Calzado e Industrias Conexas' CITECCAL) are also developing a project that seeks to make footwear, purses and other items based on paiche leather.

The Directorate of Research, Development, Innovation and Technology Transfer (DIDITT) in the ITP CITE network has for its part developed a process for obtaining gelatin from fish skin. In order to achieve this, the collagen in the skin must be treated to obtain a powder with the characteristic taste and smell of commercial gelatin, but without preservatives or additives, giving it a high protein level.

Nutritious fish

With the scientific name of Arapaima gigas, the paiche is a large fish species which can reach 9.8 feet in length and 440 pounds in weight.

As a food, the paiche not only has an extraordinary taste and quality that enables it to adapt to various gastronomic styles, but it is also highly nutritious. It has a high concentration of protein in its meat, with every 3.5 ounces of meat providing 3/4 ounce of protein. Furthermore, it is cholesterol-free, high in DHA and EPA fatty acids, and low in fat.

Details

The winning sub-project, which has a total investment of S/ 125,057 (Peruvian Soles) and will run for nine months, was co-financed by the National Innovation Program for Fisheries and Aquaculture (PNIPA) and was submitted in November 2019 by the company Servicios Agropecuarios S.R.L.

Did you know?

- For jungle communities, the paiche, together with the jaguar and black caiman, constitute a trilogy of ritual animals in the cosmogonic relationship between man and nature.

Sources: Instituto Tecnológico de la Producción