Quality Improvement of Reduced‐Salt, Phosphate‐Free Fish Patties from Processed By‐Products of N ile Tilapia Using Textural Additives and Bioactive Rice Bran Compounds

Over 60% of tilapia by‐products from the frozen fillet industry are wasted. In response to the increased health consciousness of consumers, we investigated the effects of lowered salt content, phosphate substitute additives and natural antioxidants on the quality improvement of patties made from processed by‐products of tilapia. We determined the effect of 0.5% k‐carrageenan, C itri‐ F i 100 fine granulated and xanthan gum combined with 0.5% microbial transglutaminase and 0.3% NaHCO 3 on the textural qualities of reduced‐salt (1% NaCl ) Nile tilapia patties (made from an 80:20 ratio of trimmed meat to belly flap) then compared this with a control with sodium tripolyphosphate (0.3%). After 12 freeze‐thaw cycles, k‐carrageenan was observed to improve the textural quality and lower cooking losses better than other treatments ( P  ≤ 0.05). Rice bran protein hydrolysate and red jasmine rice bran extract (2%) could be used instead of butylated hydroxyanisole (0.02%) to prevent lipid oxidation in reduced‐salt, k‐carrageenan‐supplemented patties during freezing and thawing. Practical Applications T hailand boasts robust production, consumption and export of N ile tilapia ( O reochromis niloticus   L inn); notwithstanding, over 60% of by‐products are discarded including the trimmed and belly flap meat. These are, however, low‐value, high‐fat meats, which limit shelf life and create an undesirable flavor and texture in processed products. Appropriate textural additives (i.e., MTGase , various hydrocolloids) and natural antioxidants (i.e., bioactive rice bran compounds) are promising as additives because they enhance the textural qualities and stability in reduced‐salt, phosphate‐free fish patties made from processed tilapia by‐products. Supportive findings would lead to efficient, industrial‐scale use of these by‐products.