Use of vegetable protein in processed seafood products

Abstract

AbstractIn comparison to other muscle foods like red meats, utilization of vegetable protein products in seafood is limited, and can be considered to be in its infancy. The opportunities are not predicated entirely on the future. Opportunities exist today, and vegetable protein products such as soy can and will impact on the seafood market. The opportunities for soy protein products in seafood are and will be realized in terms of nutrition, functionality, and economics. The change in price of frozen fish paste caused by the influence of the 200‐mile zones was 2 to 2.5 times in one year. In contrast, the price of soy protein products has not changed during the same period. Obviously, this price difference has an important impact on the demand for soy protein products. As the price of fish in Japan has risen, consumers have tended to avoid buying fish products, and there has been a trend toward buying animal products. Consequently, the use of textured soy proteins in these animal protein foods has also increased. Japan has a long and well developed tradition of eating soybean foods, and at the same time, Japan possesses a high level of scientific technology concerned with new soy protein foods. The whole nation, including the consumers, producers, academic societies and the government, is of the consensus that soybeans are a good food source whose consumption should be encouraged and increased. In spite of such favored conditions, utilization of soy protein foods in Japan has not really taken off even after almost 20 years of development. Reasons for the slow expansion of the market are many. However, the definite factor which decisively affects the increased use seems ultimately to be a balance between the quality and price of the products. In Japan the balance would become favorable to soy protein because of the limited fish resources as well as recent advances in the technology of soy protein foods. Several formulations for fish/soy products are presented.