At the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MEPRD) announced a scientific research competition for students as part of the LIFE Waste to Resources IP. The competition aims to promote understanding of food and biological waste prevention and management issues in Latvia. Within the competition, students are tasked with developing scientific research papers on topics related to food and biological waste prevention or management.
In this series of articles, we introduce the authors of the best works and their projects. Daniela Dreslere, a 4th-year student in the Food Quality and Innovations study program at the Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies, was awarded third place in the competition.
About herself, she says: “My name is Daniela Dreslere. I come from Vāne Parish in the Tukums District. I am currently studying in the Faculty of Food Technology, at the Institute of Food, in the 4th year of the “Food Quality and Innovations” program at the Latvian University of Life Sciences and Technologies. I chose this field after graduating from the Kandava Agricultural Technical School. Since I completed the Catering Services specialty program, I wanted to continue developing myself in this area. The “Food Quality and Innovations” program was chosen because I care about the quality of food on our tables and I am attracted to innovations in the food industry.”
Daniela chose the research topic on the potential of cod skin for collagen extraction because, during her internship at a fish processing company, she observed that a large variety of by-products (waste) are generated. As producers need to consider effective waste reduction methods, it was decided to explore the use of fish skins for collagen extraction. The idea of extracting collagen from fish skins was developed in collaboration with lecturer Ilze Grāmatiņa. This was the first time the student conducted such research, but it is important to note that waste reduction is a globally significant issue, and this topic deserves further investigation.
Daniela believes that her research topic is timely, as the use of fish collagen is on the rise worldwide. This increase is due to the fact that fish collagen can be utilized in food, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and it is better assimilated in the human body. She emphasizes that the use of terrestrial animals for collagen extraction is decreasing. She also believes that the added value of the research lies in its focus on waste reduction and its practical applicability both in Latvia and globally. Further scientific research will be conducted on the potential uses of collagen.
Daniela’s life motto is: “The more you do, the more you can do!”
D. Dreslere's scientific research paper “The Potential of Cod Skin for Collagen Extraction” in Latvian is available here.