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Title: Dehydration of pollock skins prior to gelatin production

Author
item Bower, Cynthia
item AVENA-BUSTILLOS, R - University Of California
item Hietala, Katie
item Bilbao-Sainz, Cristina
item Olsen, Carl
item McHugh, Tara

Submitted to: Journal of Food Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2010
Publication Date: 5/3/2010
Citation: Bower, C.K., Avena-Bustillos, R.J., Hietala, K.A., Bilbao-Sainz, C., Olsen, C.W., Mc Hugh, T.H. 2010. Dehydration of pollock skins prior to gelatin production. Journal of Food Science. 75(4):C317-C321.

Interpretive Summary: Alaska pollock is the USA’s largest commercial fishery, with an annual catch of over one million tons. During pollock processing, the skins are discarded or made into fish meal, despite their value for gelatin production. The absence of gelatin processing facilities in Alaska necessitates drying of the skins before transport to decrease the moisture content, but conventional hot-air drying is expensive. This study evaluated a less energy-intensive technology, the use of food-safe drying agents for reducing the water weight in pollock skins prior to shipment. To ensure that the functional properties of gelatin obtained from dried pollock skins were not affected during dehydration, gelatins were prepared from each skin-drying treatment and compared with gelatin extracted from air-dried pollock skins. The use of food-safe, regenerable desiccants offers many advantages for preserving perishable commodities. By stabilizing pollock skins through reduction of water weight, transportation costs can be decreased during shipment to a gelatin processing facility.

Technical Abstract: Alaska pollock is the USA’s largest commercial fishery, with an annual catch of over one million tons. During pollock processing, the skins are discarded or made into fish meal, despite their value for gelatin production. The absence of gelatin processing facilities in Alaska necessitates drying of the skins before transport to decrease the moisture content, but conventional hot-air drying is expensive. This study evaluated a less energy-intensive technology, the use of food-safe drying agents for reducing the water weight in pollock skins prior to shipment. To ensure that the functional properties of gelatin obtained from dried pollock skins were not affected during dehydration, gelatins were prepared from each skin-drying treatment and compared with gelatin extracted from air-dried pollock skins. The use of food-safe, regenerable desiccants offers many advantages for preserving perishable commodities. By stabilizing pollock skins through reduction of water weight, transportation costs can be decreased during shipment to a gelatin processing facility.