Fish protein isolate: Development of functional foods with nutraceutical ingredients

Fish processing by-products are usually discarded. However, they contain protein and ω-3 fatty acids. Isoelectric solubilization/precipitation (ISP) allows efficient recovery of fish protein isolate (FPI) that can be used in the development of nutraceutical products destined for human consumption. In the United States, market for nutraceutical food products in 2007 was estimated to be worth $27 billion. Forecasts for growth of nutraceutical food products range between 8.5 and 20% per year or about four times that of the food industry in general. With this demand for new products comes a need for product development and supporting literature. Consumers expect nutraceutical food products to have good sensory quality that is similar to the traditional foods in the market. Thus, this contribution focuses on the development of nutraceutical seafood products from ISP-recovered FPI by incorporating such ingredients as ω-3 oil, dietary fiber, and salt substitute.