Hello Cecilia:
You did not list your company but I see you are in Argentina and part of Clearwater Foods.
Anyway, by fish flour I assume you mean fish protein concentrate which was very popular in the 1960's and 1970's.
There were two types and then a third type later. These were called FPC Type A and Type B and later there was a hydrolyzate.
FPC Type A was solvent extracted whole fish which was then deboned to reduce the fluoride to an acceptable US FDA level. There is an FDA CFR (Regulation for FPC), FPC Type B was essentially a hygienic fishmeal produced in a stainless steel plant under GMP.
Type A was also called fish flour. It was going to be added to foods, flours, cookies, breads and a number of other products. Unfortunately no matter how finely it was pulverized it still maintained a grittiness which was quite detectable no matter what type of food it was added to.
Type B was produced in one small plant in Norway. The product was destined for the developing countries in Africa as part of the NorAid Program. It was not solvent extracted so had about 10% fat. I believe the plant was sold and possibly shipped to the USA but I don't know what happened to it after that.
Neither product had any functional properties. When added to water they fell to the bottom. When dispersed into foods they were easily detectable, almost like eating something with sand in it.
Then they tried the hydrolyzate product. It had the nutritional properties of the Type A but also functionality. It could be whipped into a foam, dispersed into other types of food products, dissolved in water and did not have the grittiness of the Type A and B. Unfortunately since the hydrolysis process only recovered some of the protein, the yield was very low and the cost very high.
The Japanese worked with a product called Marine beef which was a textured protein type product. When I visit Peru, the remnants of the rusting plant are still visible.
All of this was later replaced by surimi. This is a fish paste. It has all the functional properties that you would ever want plus the nutritional properties so it might be considered today's fish protein concentrate (at least before the sugars and other additives are blended).
As I recall, there was a very very very small amount of FPC Type B sold in Norway in tablet form, primarily for the body building market. I don't know if that still exists but I will try to find out. There is also a small company in California that freeze dries sardines, removes the bones, pulverizes it and puts it into capsules as part of an overall dietary supplement regimen. They have a web site, I don't have it right now but will try to find it for you.
Hope this helps. If you need anything further please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Tony Bimbo
Technical Consultant
International Fisheries Technology
55 Cedar Lane, PO Box 1606
Kilmarnock, VA 22482 USA
Tel /Fax 804-435-3915
Email apbimbo@verizon.net
----- Original Message -----
From: Marķa Cecilia Meo
To: seafood@ucdavis.edu
Sent: Wednesday, October 03, 2007 5:51 PM
Subject: Fish flour
Good day,
Could you please tell me if there are different qualities for fish flour?
Do hoy have any idea about the prices?
The source means any difference?
Thanks,
Cecilia.
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