A novel cold biorefinery approach for isolation of high quality fish oil in parallel with gel-forming proteins

Ultrasound-aided pH-shift processing for resource-smart valorization of salmon and herring side streams

The possibility of reducing the amount of fresh water used during alkaline the pH-shift processing of salmon head (SH) and herring frame (HF) was evaluated with ultrasound (US) as a tool to mitigate its negative effects on protein yield. The role of water ratio and US for homogenate viscosity, mass yield, crude composition, functional properties and lipid oxidation of the SH and HF protein isolates were also investigated. Applying US during the solubilization step of the pH-shift process completely compensated for the reduced protein yield coming from using 3 rather than 6 volumes of water for HF, but not for SH. Using US had no negative effect on the composition and protein functionality of the HF protein isolate. However, it slightly increased its level of secondary lipid oxidation products. Altogether, applying US during the pH-shift processing at low water ratios can be a promising solution for more resource-smart valorization of herring side streams.

Five cuts from herring (Clupea harengus): Comparison of nutritional and chemical composition between co-product fractions and fillets

Weight distribution, proximate composition, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals and vitamins were investigated in five sorted cuts (head, backbone, viscera + belly flap, tail, fillet) emerging during filleting of spring and fall herring (Clupea harengus). The herring co-product cuts constituted ∼ 60 % of the whole herring weight, with backbone and head dominating. Substantial amounts of lipids (5.8-17.6 % wet weight, ww) and proteins (12.8-19.2 % ww) were identified in the co-products, the former being higher in fall than in spring samples. Co-product cuts contained up to 43.1 % long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC n-3 PUFA) of total FA, absolute levels peaking in viscera + belly flap. All cuts contained high levels of essential amino acids (up to 43.3 %), nutritional minerals (e.g., iodine, selenium, calcium, and iron/heme-iron), and vitamins E, D, and B12. Co-products were, in many cases, more nutrient-rich than the fillet and could be excellent sources for both (functional) food and nutraceuticals.

Functional proteins through green refining of seafood side streams

Scarcity of nutritive protein is a major global problem, the severity of which is bound to increase with the rising population. The situation demands finding additional sources of proteins that can be both safe as well as acceptable to the consumer. Food waste, particularly from seafood is a plausible feedstock of proteins in this respect. Fishing operations result in appreciable amounts of bycatch having poor food value. In addition, commercial processing results in 50 to 60% of seafood as discards, which consist of shell, head, fileting frames, bones, viscera, fin, skin, roe, and others. Furthermore, voluminous amounts of protein-rich effluents are released during commercial seafood processing. While meat from the bycatch can be raw material for proteinous edible products, proteins from the process discards and effluents can be recovered through biorefining employing upcoming, environmental-friendly, low-cost green processes. Microbial or enzyme treatments release proteins bound to the seafood matrices. Physico-chemical processes such as ultrasound, pulse electric field, high hydrostatic pressure, green solvent extractions and others are available to recover proteins from the by-products. Cultivation of photosynthetic microalgae in nutrient media consisting of seafood side streams generates algal cell mass, a rich source of functional proteins. A zero-waste marine bio-refinery approach can help almost total recovery of proteins and other ingredients from the seafood side streams. The recovered proteins can have high nutritive value and valuable applications as nutraceuticals and food additives.

Pilot-Scale Ensilaging of Herring Filleting Co-Products and Subsequent Separation of Fish Oil and Protein Hydrolysates

In this study, ensilaging of herring (Clupea harengus) filleting co-products was taken from lab-scale to pilot scale (1500 L) while monitoring the protein degree of hydrolysis (DH) and lipid oxidation. Subsequently, the possibility of recovering fish oil and protein hydrolysates using batch centrifugation at different g-forces/times was investigated. Around 38% DH was recorded after 2-day pilot-scale ensilaging of herring co-products at ambient temperature (i.e., ~ 22 °C), which was similar to the DH found in lab-scale (40% after 2 days; 22 °C). The lipid oxidation marker 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) reached 20 µmole TBARS/kg silage after 2-day ensilaging. Centrifugation of the silage at 3000-8500 × g for 2-20 min revealed successful separation into fish oil and protein hydrolysates. Heat-treating the silage (85 °C; 30 min) prior to centrifugation resulted in significantly higher oil and hydrolysates recoveries; the same being true for increased g-force. At 8500 × g, the recovery of oil and hydrolysates were 9.7 and 53.0% w/w, respectively, from heat-treated silage, while recoveries were 4.1 and 48.1% w/w, respectively, from non-heat treated silage. At 4500 × g, being a more scalable approach, corresponding numbers were 8.2 and 47.1% (w/w) as well as 2.0 and 40.2% (w/w). The recovered fish oil contained 8% EPA and 11% DHA of total fatty acids. Free fatty acids (FFA), peroxide value (PV), p-anisidine value (p-AV), and total oxidation (TOTOX) values of oils were in the range of 4-7% (FFA), 3.6-3.7 meq/kg oil (PV), 2.5-4.0 (p-AV), and 9.9-11.1 (TOTOX), respectively, which were within the acceptable limits for human consumption specified by the GOED voluntary monograph. The recovered protein hydrolysates contained peptides in the molecular weight range 0.3-6 kDa (~ 37%) and 11-34 kDa (~ 63%). Also, the remaining solids contained 15-17% (w/w) protein, having 44-45% essential amino acids. Overall, the results suggest that herring co-product silage is a valuable source of fish oil and protein hydrolysates, paving the way for ensilaging based-biorefining of herring co-products into multiple products.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11947-022-02870-9.

Comparison of the Proximate Composition and Nutritional Profile of Byproducts and Edible Parts of Five Species of Shrimp

The nutritional components of different parts (meat, head, shell and tail) of Litopenaeus vannamei (L.v), Macrobrachium rosenbergii (M.r), Penaeus monodon (P.m), Fenneropenaeus chinensis (F.c), and Penaeus japonicus (P.j) were analyzed and their nutritional values were evaluated. For the five species of shrimp, the meat yield was 37.47–55.94%, and the byproduct yield was 44.06–62.53%. The meat yields of L.v and F.c were the highest (55.94 and 55.92%, respectively), and the meat yield of M.r was the lowest (37.47%). The shrimp contain high amounts of crude protein, and the values of the amino acid score (AAS), chemical score (CS), and essential amino index (EAAI) were greater than or close to 1.00, indicating that shrimp protein had higher nutritional value. The shrimp head was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and the ratio of n-6 to n-3 PUFAs was from 0.37 to 1.68, indicating that the shrimp head is rich in n-3 PUFAs and is a good source of n-3 PUFAs. The five species of shrimp were rich in macro- and micro-minerals, especially in shrimp byproducts. The shrimp byproducts were also rich in other bioactive ingredients (astaxanthin), which are also very valuable for developing biological resources. Therefore, shrimp have many nutritional benefits, and their byproducts can also be used to develop natural nutraceuticals, which are considered to be one of the healthiest foods.

Impact of Processing Technology on Macro- and Micronutrient Profile of Protein-Enriched Products from Fish Backbones

Impacts of processing technology (mechanical separation and pH-shift processing) on protein recovery from salmon, herring and cod backbones and the content of macro- and micronutrients in the recovered protein enriched products were investigated. Mechanical separation led to higher protein recovery compared with the pH-shift process and using both techniques, recovery ranked the species as herring > salmon > cod. However, the pH-shift process up-concentrated protein from herring and salmon backbones more efficiently than mechanical separation by removing more fat and ash. This consequently reduced n-3 PUFA and vitamin D content in their protein isolates compared with the backbones and mechanically separated meat (MSM). Cod protein isolate, however, contained higher levels of these nutrients compared with MSM. Mechanical separation concentrated vitamins E and C in salmon MSM but not for cod and herring. Opposite, pH-shift processing reduced levels of these two vitamins for cod and herring backbones, while vitamins D and C were reduced for salmon. For minerals, selenium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium were lower in protein isolates than MSM, while copper, zinc, iron and manganese were similar or higher. Overall, there is a major potential for upcycling of fish backbones to food ingredients, but processing technology should be carefully balanced against the desired nutrient profile and final application area.