Upcycling Fish Side Streams into Protein Hydrolysates Using Nanofiltration Technology

The world fisheries and fish farming industries generate huge amounts of side stream, which could account for up to 75% of total fisheries production. This includes heads, backbones and viscera after the filleting process. If treated appropriately, these have the potential to be upcycled as ingredients for food applications. One promising route is the use of commercial enzymes to produce fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) with potential bioactive properties. However, one of the major challenges in the adoption of FPH is the often associated unpalatable and unpleasant tastes and flavors, and presence of unwanted compounds such as NaCl and trimethylamine (TMA). In recent years, refining and purification of hydrolysates by membrane filtration has gained increasing interest. By applying filters with specific molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO),products of different properties may be produced.