FISH PROCESSING
By: LAURENO, DIVINA VILLAVER
DELA CRUZ, CEDRICK P.
ESTOR, VANESSA R.
WHAT IS FISH PROCESSING?
A preparation of seafood and freshwater fish for human consumption.
Commonly used to describe all forms of edible finfish, mollusks like clams
and oysters, crustaceans like crabs and lobsters that inhabit an
aquatic environment.
Fish from the marine and freshwater bodies of the world have been a major
source of food for humankind since before recorded history.
Harvesting wild fish from fresh and marine waters and raising cultured fish
in ponds were practices of ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and other
Mediterranean peoples. Rudimentary processing techniques such as sun-
drying, salting, and smoking were used by these ancient groups to stabilize
the fish supply.
Modern methods of processing and preservation have encouraged the
consumption of many species of fish that are popular throughout the world.
DIFFERENTS METHODS OF FISH
PROCESSING
HANDLING
STORAGE
CURING
SALTING
CANNING
BATTERED AND BREADED PRODUCTS
FISH PROCESSING EQUIPMENTS
HANDLING
The intrinsic and extrinsic qualities of fish vary considerably
depending upon the location of the fishing ground, species, water
quality and harvesting techniques.
The primary objective of any handling method is to preserve the
quality of the fish by bringing down the temperature near
to 0oC as quickly as possible.
The factors such as delay in handling and chilling the catch, poor
temperature control in the fish hold, damage from rough handling,
poor standards of gutting, bleeding and washing the fish and
mechanical damage due to the overfilling of the containers have a
deleterious effect on the quality of fish and result in reduction of
shelf life and loss of weight.
STORAGE
Chilled storage
Chilling is an effective way of reducing spoilage in fish if it is
done quickly and if the fish are kept chilled and handled
carefully and hygienically.
The objective of chilling is to cool the fish as quickly as
possible to as low a temperature as possible without freezing.
Chilling cannot prevent the spoilage together but in general,
the colder the fish, the greater the reduction in bacterial and
enzyme activity.
FREEZING
Freezing Process
In the simplest terms refrigeration means removal of heat from the body or
atmosphere, which is desired to be cooled and its transfer to another
medium. It is usually accomplished by the evaporation of a liquid
refrigerant, which extracts heat from the medium to be cooled. The
refrigeration cycle involves steps to remove the heat from the evaporating
refrigerant by again converting it into the liquid state in order that it may be
used repeatedly in a continuous process.
CURING
The traditional methods of processing fish by salting, drying, smoking
pickling etc. are collectively known as Curing.
Curing is the oldest method of fish preservation. Though traditional it is
still widely practiced in developing countries.
Though produced in coastal areas, cured fish is usually consumed in the
interior markets and hilly areas. This is the cheapest method of preservation
also, since no expensive method or technology is used.
Curing is a process by which the fish is preserved by sun drying, salting, pickling,
smoking, artificial drying etc. This can be done either by any single method or a
combination of these methods. Traditionally, simple sun drying was practiced widely.
Here preservation was achieved by removing the water in the fish, thereby retarding
the activity of bacteria and fungi. The heat was able to destroy the bacteria to a certain
extent. Later on it was a combination of both salting and then drying or salting,
smoking and drying. In the current market situation both wet and dry cured fishery
products have commercial importance.
Methods
Drying
Wet curing
Dry curing
Smoking
Mona curing
Colombo curing
SALTING
An area of low ground , coastal land, regularly inundated with salt and water, often taken
to include.
Precautions to be taken before salting:
The fish used for salting should be as fresh as possible. It should be borne in mind that fresher the
fish the better will be the end product.
The water used for washing and brining should be potable and should not be coloured or
contaminated.
Salt used should be of good quality and should not contain high amounts of Magnesium and
Calcium chlorides. These being hygroscopic in nature will delay the drying process.
While dressing the fish care should be taken to clean and wash the same. The intestine should not be
ruptured since this will contaminate the flesh
All utensils and tanks used for drying and allied purposes should be cleaned properly and dried
before use
Cement tanks should be scrubbed scrupulously and kept clean
Workers engaged in drying should be free of illness and should have an idea about handling
practices
No waste should be left unattended; the waste should be disposed off properly.
Drying racks should be kept clean.
A method of food preservation in which preservation is achieved by the destruction
of micro-organisms by the application of heat.
The use of an appropriate container for packing fish averts the possibility of re-entry
CANNING
of micro-organisms and further spoilage.
Since the canned foods are sufficiently cooked products and free from micro-
organisms they offer consumer safety besides being ready to consume.
Canning has the unique distinction of being an invention in the field of food
processing/ preservation whereas all other methods can be considered as adaptation
of natural processes or their modifications.
Because of their very long shelf life and ready to consume feature canned products
have become very popular and a variety of food stuffs, both plant and animal origin
and their combinations are produced and distributed.
Canned products possess the
following salient features
Consumer safety: Canned foods are free from micro-organisms and
protected against any further contamination
Ready to consume products: they are sufficiently cooked
products and
Canned foods are concentrated foods: Only the edible
portion is packed after removing all waste parts
No special storage facility needed: Can be stored at ambient
temperature
Very long storage life: Properly processed canned foods keep well for
more than one year.
The important operations involved in
a canning process are :
Selection and preparation of raw material.
Pre-cooking / blanching
Filling in to containers.
Addition of liquid medium
Exhausting
Seaming
Heat Processing / Retorting
Cooling
Drying, warehousing, labelling and casing
BATTERED AND BREADED
PRODUCTS
Battered and breaded seafood offers a convenience food valued
widely by the consumer.
Battered and breaded items are included in the value added
products because the process of coating with batter and
breadcrumbs increases the bulk of the product thereby reducing
the cost element.
The pick up of coating on any product can be increased either
by adjusting the viscosity of batter or by repeating the process
of battering and breading.
As a convention 50% fish portion is expected in any coated
product.
Fish fingers, fish portions, fish cakes etc. are the staple breaded
seafood lines, while breaded shrimp, lobster, oyster, scallops
etc. cater to a luxury market are widely used in restaurant trade.
The production of battered and breaded fish products involves
several stages.
The method varies with the type of products and
pickup desired. In most cases it involves seven
steps.
1. portioning/forming,
2. pre-dusting,
3. battering,
4. breading,
5. pre-frying
6. freezing
7. packaging and cold storage
Fish Processing Equipment
Equipment for Defrosting and Washing.
Equipment for fish Heat treatment.
Equipment for Injection and Salting.
Machines for Filleting and Сutting.
Squid processing Machines. Filleting.
Skinning & Scaling machines.
Portion Cutter machines (slicers, band saws)
Fish Storage.
Defroster
Most of the canned fish are made not only from chilled or fresh fish, but also
use ice cream. The exception is only natural products, which are made from
whitefish or salmon. In view of the use of raw material ice cream, when it
enters production, the fish must be defrosted (thawed). From the correctness
of this process depends the quality of the finished canning products.
Equipment for fish HEAT treatment. Heat
Chambers for drying and smoking fish.
The heat treatment (baking, heating and cooking) is completely
automatic without the need for additional manipulation.
Universal cameras designed for industrial and handicraft
production of smoked products. Allows to produce automatic
heat treatment of smoked products by performing such
treatments as reddening, heating, drying, smoking, cooking,
baking and dusching without subsequent malpululations.
Machines for INJECTION and SALTING
To give fish products an attractive and fresh look use the
injector for fish. This device allows you to evenly distribute
all kinds of salt formulations inside the products. The result
of this unit is a uniform consistency of the fish, its juiciness,
as well as aesthetic cut. The basic principle of the operation
of fish injectors is the constant supply of the necessary liquid
to the carcass by means of specialized needles.
Machines for FILLETING AND
CUTTING
At each modern fish processing enterprise there must be a
filleting machine for fish. This device allows you to get
fillets from defrosted or fresh raw materials. Improvement
of fillet production technologies is one of the main
directions of development in the field of fish processing.
Thanks to the production of fillets, your company can
significantly expand the range of manufactured products.
SQUID processing Machines. Filleting
machines. Squid Slicers.
Equipment for squid processing includes
electromechanical devices used to automate the
Filleting, Slicing, cutting processing for squid.
Depending on the size and throughput, such equipment
can be installed on production lines, fishing vessels or
made in a table version for cafes and restaurants.
SKINNING MACHINE, SCALING MACHINE
Skinning machines are designed to remove skins from fresh or
defrosted (thawed) fillets, whole fish or chunks. The
equipment is used both in fish hatcheries of companies, and in
public catering establishments. The principle of operation of
the machines is quite simple: the raw material is placed on a
tape, and then passes through a system of special devices – a
skinny drum and adjustable knives.
Machines for CUTTING and SLICERS
During the cutting of fish, it removes separate parts, as well as organs that can not be eaten, such
as heads, entrails and fins. To perform all operations associated with this procedure, use
equipment for cutting fish. Cutting occurs after washing, except for sprats, which are cut only
after smoking. The variety of shapes and sizes of fish has led to the creation of a variety of
equipment for cutting fish.
THE END
