Project Number: 6435-43440-045-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Dec 07, 2012
End Date: Jun 30, 2014

Objective:
The overall goal of this research project is to increase consumer demand for catfish products and profitability of the catfish industry by developing new and improved products, improving product quality and increasing utilization of catfish by-products. The three project objectives follow: 1) Develop methods to improve quality and uniformity of catfish fillets and nuggets; 2) Development of new and value added catfish products that will meet consumer demand; and 3) Enhance the utilization of by-products from aquaculture product processing.

Approach:
This project will work closely with the commercial processing industry to improve the perception of catfish quality, to develop new catfish products, and evaluate the potential new use for catfish by-products. Approaches will include characterizing the color variation in catfish fillets, and investigating causes of color variation. Machine vision software will be developed to aid in the mechanically separation of catfish fillets based on color. New catfish products to be developed will include a batter and breaded catfish fillet that can be oven cooked, and meets the requirements for inclusion into school lunch programs. New coated and marinated catfish fillet products will be developed for niche markets. The initial approach for the by-product studies will be to determine the composition of both channel and hybrid catfish by-product components as the first step in developing novel value added products from underutilized catfish waste.