Color improvement by titanium dioxide and its effect on gelation and texture of proteins recovered from whole fish using isoelectric solubilization/precipitation

WOS: 000274172600003Whiteness is a critical attribute for restructured fish products such as surimi seafood. However, the whiteness of gels made from proteins recovered from fish processing by-products or whole fish using isoelectric solubilization/precipitation is poor. The by-products and whole fish contain bones, scales, skin, etc. that affect gel color. Therefore, whiteness needs to be improved if marketable products are to be developed from recovered proteins. The objectives of this study were to determine effects of titanium dioxide (TiO2) on: (1) color: (2) texture; and (3) viscoelasticity (G') of gels made from isolated carp proteins and Alaska pollock surimi. Carp proteins were recovered with isoelectric solubilization/precipitation. TiO2 was added to carp proteins at 0-0.5 g/100 g. TiO2 was not added to surimi. Due to much higher (P = 0.2 g/100 g resulted in better (P < 0.05) whiteness of carp gels than surimi gels without chalky and artificially white appearance. TiO2 did not affect texture or viscoelasticity. This research demonstrates that whiteness of restructured fish products based on proteins recovered from whole fish via isoelectric solubilization/precipitation can be similar to the whiteness of surimi seafood. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved