Survey Results Toward Validating a Novel Low-Acid Seafood Recipe for Home Canning

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers showed increased interest in food preservation techniques, focusing on canning for personal health and improved food security. The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) offers guidelines for safely canning various fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood. However, there are limited NCHFP-validated guidelines for canning seafood (n = 7) as compared to other products. There is a need for validated home canning recipes since incorrectly canned seafood presents a risk for the potential growth of Clostridium botulinum, which produces a deadly toxin. An environmental scan for unvalidated home-canning recipes for seafood informed the development of a United States consumer online (Qualtrics) survey where participants were asked about seafood, pressure canning activities, seafood canning practices, consumption patterns, health, and demographics. A total of 502 respondents participated, and consumers were interested in a new fish recipe (34.1%), followed by peeled shrimp (19.0%), and seafood broth/stock (16.4%). The majority of respondents knew to use a pressure canner (75.5%), while the NCHFP was a known reputable resource for recipes (47.1%) when canning fish. The survey guided researchers in prioritizing a seafood broth recipe to be validated and added to the NCHFP recipe collection for home canners.