Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Abstract

Addition of Fish Protein Hydrolysate for Enhanced Water Retention in Sous Vide Processing of Salmon

JP Ibarra, A Teixeira, R Simpson, P Valencia, M Pinto and Sergio Almonacid

Scientific evidence has shown that high sodium consumption from salt can lead to arterial hypertension. Most salt is consumed through processed food to enhance flavor or to increase water retention in the case of processed meats and seafood. In the processing of fish, such as salmon, considerable organic waste is generated that could be reused in the form of a protein hydrolysate if it could serve a useful purpose. The hypothesis of the work presented in this paper was that protein hydrolysate made from salmon waste could replace salt for the purpose of enhancing water retention in the (Sous Vide) processing of salmon filets. The main objective of this research was to observe the effect of different combinations of protein hydrolysate and salt concentration on the drained weight of the final product, and to determine that the results obtained were statistically and economically significant. Response surface methodology was used to study the simultaneous effects of different combinations of protein hydrolysate and salt concentrations on resulting drained weight. A 4x4 factorial design was used, where concentrations of protein hydrolysate were 0%, 7%, 10% and 14%, while salt concentrations were those established by the U.S. Department of Agricultural for salmon as regular, low, very low and no added sodium (1.9%, 0.6%, 0.2% and 0%, respectively). Results showed that the combination of 14% hydrolysate and 0.2% salt achieved nearly the same level of water retention as the standard industry practice of adding nearly 2% salt. This could mean that processors could reduce current levels of salt addition by 90% without compromising process performance, nor color or texture in the final product.