Seafood Proteins and Surimi

Surimi is refined fish myofibrillar proteins stabilized with cryoprotectants and used as a raw material for various surimi seafood products. Surimi production starts with heading, gutting, mincing, washing dewatering, and freezing. Refining process of fish muscle is to concentrate desired myofibrillar proteins while removing undesired components such lipid, stroma proteins, sarcoplasmic proteins, and other impurities. Refined fish myofibrillar proteins, which are virtually surimi, have unique gelling ability to transform fish meat into a wide range of surimi seafood. Unlike other proteins that form a gel, fish myofibrillar proteins have setting ability that forms a gel if salted paste is held at a certain temperature (5-40°C) depending on fish's own thermal stability. Its gelling and setting uniqueness has played a major role in the development of numerous surimi seafood products and contributed positively to the successful market position of these products.