Common Problems in Fish Ball Production and Sale and Their Solutions

I. The Significance of Fish Ball Production

China ranks first in the world in total freshwater fish output and is also the world's largest freshwater fish farming country. China has uniquely advantageous resources for developing the deep-processing industry of surimi foods. In 2004, the national aquatic product output was 48.55 million tons, an increase of 3.2% over the same period in 2003. From January to November, freshwater product output was 16.69 million tons, up 5.9% year on year; marine capture product output was 12.87 million tons, up 2.1% year on year; and mariculture product output was 10.50 million tons, up 4.2% year on year.

In early 2001, the United Nations nutrition organization identified fish as the best source of animal protein for humanity in the 21st century. Many nutritionists and health experts recommend that, where conditions permit, each person should ideally consume 100 grams of high-quality fish protein per day. European and American countries long ago advocated the dietary concept of "eat less meat and more fish."

Among the large family of freshwater fish, low-value freshwater fish (such as silver carp and bighead carp) are characterized by high yield; white flesh but many intermuscular bones; and protein content comparable to that of high-quality fish. These characteristics make them ideal raw materials for developing surimi products. With traditional preparation methods, it is very difficult to remove the fish bones. These small and numerous intermuscular bones hinder many consumers' choices, so that those groups who most need to eat highly nutritious foods - the elderly, children, and others - rarely eat fish or dare not eat fish. Modern surimi product processing technology can solve these contradictions well. It can not only remove fish bones, but also achieve large-scale production and product diversification. It is cheap and good quality, hygienic and convenient, and has very broad market prospects.

II. Current Status of Fish Ball Preservation Methods and Existing Problems

At present, there are mainly two methods for preserving fish balls: first, canning; second, refrigeration.

(I) Compared with fish balls made and sold on site, the semi-finished fish balls used to produce canned products have the following characteristics:

1. The moisture content of the fish balls is reduced by 30%-50%. This is mainly to increase the collagen content and enhance the gel elasticity of the product.

2. In order to improve the water-holding capacity and mouthfeel of the fish balls, quality improvers such as compound phosphates, modified starch, and plant proteins also need to be added.

3. During packaging, a certain amount of broth must be added to the semi-finished fish balls before sealing and sterilizing, to prevent the fish balls from being squeezed against one another and deformed.

4. The gel elasticity of the semi-finished canned fish balls is very high before sterilization, but after sterilization (for example, sterilization formula: 15'-70'-20'/118 degrees C), the gel elasticity of the fish balls is greatly reduced, and the mouthfeel and flavor simply cannot compare with fish balls made and sold on site.

(II) Analysis of the main problems

1. While the fish balls are being sterilized, prolonged heating also causes damage to their gel elasticity, and this damage is intensified especially when broth is present.

2. The broth causes some water-soluble nutrients in the fish balls to leach into the broth, affecting the flavor and nutrition of the fish balls.

3. The presence of broth limits the development of various snack and flavored foods.

4. The broth increases the packaging and transportation costs of the product.

(III) Compared with fish balls made and sold on site, fish balls used for refrigeration have the following characteristics:

1. The moisture content of the fish balls is also reduced by about 30%-50%.

2. Measures such as adding antifreeze agents to the fish balls are needed to enhance their freeze resistance; otherwise, after thawing, the fish balls will lose part of their water-holding capacity and become a "sponge body."

(IV) Analysis of the main problems

1. The @#@136@#@ of fish balls requires support from a cold chain, leaving large blind spots in consumption and resulting in relatively high sales costs.

2. They cannot be eaten immediately upon opening, so they are not convenient enough.

3. The hygiene indicators of fish balls are not easy to guarantee, especially in the production and sales stages, where secondary contamination is likely to occur, threatening food safety.

III. Technical Characteristics of Micro-Vacuum Oxygen-Free Packaging

Fish balls are a kind of fish meat product with relatively poor heat sterilization performance, and the target of sterilization is also the hardest to deal with, Clostridium botulinum. Therefore, achieving a balance between commercial sterility and product texture is technically difficult. At present, for the processing of this type of product, the relatively mature technical method is to use high-temperature short-time sterilization to rapidly render the sterilization target sterile, then cool to 85-95 degrees C and, while hot, package and seal in an oxygen-free aseptic environment, then cool and inspect, finally obtaining micro-vacuum oxygen-free packaged fish ball products. The main characteristics of this production technology are:

1. The high-temperature short-time sterilization method enables the fish balls to meet commercial sterility requirements while greatly preserving the fish balls' own nutrition, flavor, and mouthfeel, making them closer to the quality of fish balls made and sold on site.

2. The product can be kept at room temperature for more than 12 months.

3. The product packaging method can use "laminated film/tray (bowl)." Under micro-vacuum oxygen-free conditions, the fish balls will not be tightly pressed together and deformed, thus bringing great convenience to the research and development of new products. It can develop both a series of ready-to-eat convenient fish ball dishes and various flavored snack fish ball foods (such as small-pack fish balls, flavored fish ball skewers, etc.).