Anfaco Cecopesca

Asociación Nacional de Fabricantes de Conservas de Pescados y Mariscos – Centro Técnico Nacional de Conservación de Productos de la Pesca

ANFACO-CECOPESCA is a private state-level technological center integrated in the National Association of Manufacturers of Canned Fish and Seafood (ANFACO), representing more than 250 European companies, being its principal mission promoting the quality, research, technological development and innovation in the field of conservation of fisheries and aquaculture products in particular and of food products in general, as well as the transfer of research to the business results.

The center is established as a reference at national and international level in the marine and food processing sector, becoming the main R+D business booster agent and a key contributor of public administrations in the design and development of public R+D policies. R&D department is composed by six divisions: By-products Valorization and Circular Economy, Food safety, Food and health, Living resources and Aquaculture, Processing Engineering – Industry 4.0, and Preservation technologies. The two first ones will be directly involved in this project.
The building has an experimental pilot plant where preindustrial simulation activities can be carried out, such as modelling, design, optimization and control of manufacturing processes, energy efficiency, development of prototypes of industrial machinery and recovery of by-products and wastes at pilot-scale. CYTMA has the most advanced technologies of processing, packaging and food preservation.
The total revenues in 2019 were 7.45 M€, with an 86.8% coming from R&D&I activities and the provision of technological services. The number of employees is 116, being the 78% researchers and technical staff.

Work Package

WP2, WP6

ANFACO-CECOPESCA will perform activities related to the optimization of enzymatic pre-treatments and supercritical CO2 extraction in fish pre-treated by-products in WP2 lines to favor the bioactivities that would be interesting from end-users in the obtained products, as well as lead the Spanish replicability cluster solution in WP6.

Team

Rebeca Vázquez

BSc, Resarcher

Researcher at R&D Sustainability – Circular Economy Division. She has more than 10 years of professional expertise in R&D focused on food processing and by-products valorization. She has participated in more than 20 national and international R&D projects.

Diego Méndez

PhD, Researcher

He has a professional expertise in R&D for more than 15 years, in the residues and by-products valorization as well as in other biotechnological areas (enzymatic hydrolysis…). He has participated in more than 25 R&D projects and has published 9 papers.

Carlos José Rodríguez

PhD, Researcher

Expertise in Technology of Fisheries and Aquaculture Products, his experience in this field/sector goes back 32 years. He has worked in octopus bait/feed and fish silage development, innovation in new foods, refrigerated, frozen, pasteurized and canning, applying emerging technologies. Control of products and processes. He has participated in more than 30 projects and has published 22 scientific publications.

David Alonso

BSc, Researcher

He works at ANFACO-CECOPESCA since 2007, as a Researcher at R&D Sustainability – Circular Economy Division, where he works in the field of sustainability, circular economy, product environmental impact and nutrients recovery, participating in national and international projects in this area, including Horizon Europe proposals. His research experience is also extensive in advanced preservation technologies and product innovation, combination of applications for food processing and continuous improvement of food packaging techniques.

Rodrigo G. Reboredo

BSc, Researcher

More than 15 year experience in food control by means of physical-chemical and sensorial analysis. Participation in more than 30 projects regarding new product development, food safety and quality, and the optimization of industrial processes, with experience in scientific dissemination through scientific congresses, industrial forums and peer-reviewed publications. His experience also includes his role as project manager in several international cooperation projects. In addition to R&D activities, he has performed international technical assistance and teaching activities regarding chemical analysis and technical criteria to comply with EU legislation. Special expertise in the application of optical technologies (VIS-NIR spectroscopy and Hyperspectral imaging) for food product monitoring in the industry.

María José Chapela

PhD, Researcher

Researcher at R&D Biotechnology – Health Division, where she develops her work mainly in the field of functional nutrition (functionality studies of food and ingredients). She has worked, among other aspects of food safety, in the serotyping of bacteria applying qPCR to food microbiology and aquaculture. She has more than 20 years of experience in research projects financed by the EC and has participated and coordinated different projects belonging to European, national and regional calls as well as in private projects with food companies. More than 30 scientific articles published in prestigious journals (SCI) and 4 book chapters. She has participated in more than 50 international conferences addressing different aspects of food research.

Paula Fajardo

PhD, Researcher

Researcher at R&D Biotechnology – Health Division. Her research areas focus on Probiotics in food and feed; Valorization of by-products and bioactive ingredients from natural Sources; In vitro Functional activities; Functional foods and tailored diets for people with specific nutritional requirements; Emergent technologies to improve shelf life. She has participated 19 national projects focused on the research on valorization of by-products and bioactive compounds to develop healthy products (food, drinks or nutraceutics), in close collaboration with food industry, and 6 international projects. Publication of 31 papers in high impact journals and 8 book chapters.

Celina Costas

PhD, Researcher

During her postdoc she worked at prestigious centers as the Barts Cancer Institute in London and the Molecular Biology Center “Severo Ochoa” in Madrid. She has published more than 20 research papers. As the head of the Biotechnology and Health Research Group, she coordinates projects related to the characterization of new sources of proteins and other compounds of interest for the food system, always under a sustainable point of view, and the role of the diet in noncommunicable diseases.

Mercedes Alonso

BSc, Researcher

She carries out his research work in the development of R + D projects belonging to different European and national calls. His research experience ranges from ranges from the performance of technical activities in the area of Molecular Biology to the application of in vitro techniques for the evaluation and analysis of bioactive compounds.

Gonzalo Ojea

BSc, International R&I Project Manager

He is currently the head of the International Innovation Unit at ANFACO-CECOPESCA, with more than 16 years of professional expertise in the management of international projects and technical assistance in third countries, within the food sector and specifically the fish processing sector, in ANFACO. Extensive experience and skills to lead and coordinate research and cooperation projects. He has participated in more than 20 national and international projects.