STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING SOLUBLE WASTES
GENERATED DURING MINCED FISH (SURIMI) PRODUCTION
David Green, Graduate Assistant
Department of Food Science
Leon Tzou, Graduate Assistant
Department of Civil Engineering
Allen C. Chao, Associate Professor
Department of Civil Engineering
Tyre C. Lanier, Associate Professor
Department of Food Science
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27650
INTRODUCTION
This paper represents preliminary findings of a two year project on developing water and wastewater management strategies in surimi processing. The objective is to minimize wastewater generation by process modification at the primary source of pollution.
The frozen surimi process, as it is practiced today, was first developed by the Japanese in the late
1950's as a means of increasing the supply of high quality fish meat, required to produce traditional
dishes like kamaboko, chichuwa, and hampen, from the distant pollack resource of the Bering Sea.
When the home market for traditional surimi-based products matured around 1974, the Japanese
began to look abroad for indigenous Asian communities such as Japanese-American populations to
whom they might sell their fish-based products. Recently, Japanese processors began to develop technology to manufacture products which similate quality shellfish meats in response to dwindling natural supplies of these items [1, 2]. Such products found ready acceptance in the U.S. market so that
imports of such surimi-based products have exploded from less than 2 million pounds in 1977 to nearly
29 million pounds projected for 1983 [2]. The potential growth for this emerging industry is such
that Kibun, the leading manufacture of fish gel products in Japan, recently opened two U.S. based
processing plants for production of kamaboko and the new engineered seafood analogs.
Not to be outdone by foreign investors, the U.S. fisheries industry has responded this year by
establishing a processing line for surimi production from pollack (Theragra charcogramme) at Dutch
Harbor, Alaska. In addition, several Univeristy laboratories, including our own Department of Food
Science at N.C. State University, have been investigating the potential of other domestic fish species
(catfish, croaker, menhaden, red hake) for use as surimi [3, 4, 5). It is the hope that, to the mutual
benefit of foreign and domestic interests alike, U.S. food processors will begin to explore the use of
surimi in a variety of different food systems.
Underlying all these developments are concerns over processing wastes generated in surimi production, particularly in light of the ever-more strict U.S. effluent guidelines. The present research
represents an attempt to reduce overall water requirements and enhance wastewater treatment processes. For this approach to be successful, a thorough understanding of the surimi manufacturing
operation is required.
CURRENT PRACTICE
Surimi is a highly refined form of fish muscle protein whose primary quality attribute is the ability
to form strong, heat-induced gels which possess a high capacity for immobilizing water [6, 7]. Other
desirable product attributes include whiteness of color and the absence of fishy odors and flavor.
Currently, the highest quality surimi is produced aboard Japanese factory ships operating off the
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