**4. Conclusions**

An optimized method that combines pre-treatment with drinking water followed by a soaking step in calcium salt brine was proposed to stabilize and treat JF for possible food uses in Europe and Western countries. The described procedure for JF-DW pre-treatment improved the fundamental aspects of JF tissue stabilization. The significant reductions in any microbiological growth and undesired enzymatic risks, increased texture values, and desirable antioxidant and fatty acid profiles are some relevant improvements with respect to the very recently proposed JF-SW method [18]. Moreover, the presented approach allowed the content of toxic heavy metals, and especially aluminum, to be strongly reduced. This new, safe approach was initially set up on *R. pulmo* JF species, and later successfully applied to other JF species present in the Mediterranean Sea, thus leading to a preliminary validation of the proposed method. The products obtained by the method described here were used for the formulation of new food prototypes. The characterization of the safety, quality, nutritional, and sensory aspects is ongoing. This study can offer a contribution to fill the knowledge gap in the assessment of JF use as human food in Western countries, even though further important evidence needs to be gathered in terms of toxicological and allergen testing. In addition, the technological simplicity of this process will allow its application in poor coastal environments. As a potential future application, a new commercial kit based on the procedure proposed here could be easily developed and retailed by the same fish shops selling freshly harvested edible JF as a helpful tool for consumers interested in preparing homemade and safe JF-based dishes.
