PROCESS FOR PRODUCING EDIBLE QUALITY REFINED FISH OIL

摘要

A method for producing edible qualityrefined fish oil comprising the steps of extractingpress liquor from a cooked fish, wherein the pressliquor consists primarily of fish oil and water inherentin the cooked fish. The fish oil is from the group offish consisting of menhaden, other similar fish, andmixtures thereof. Enzymes present in the press liquor aredeactivated by injecting an acidic solution into said pressliquor. After the fish oil is removed from the press liquor,the fish oil is cold filtered to produce an olein fractionand a stearine fraction. The stearine fraction is separatedfrom the olein fraction and fatty acids that remain inthe olein fraction are removed. Then bleaching thefish oil by mixing amorphous silica and diatomaceousearth with the fish oil, under vacuum conditions, anddeodorizing the fish oil under vacuum conditions withsteam injection. Finally, preparing the fish oil for storageby mixing a chelating agent and antioxidants with fishoil. Also disclosed is a refined fish oil that is free ofunsavory taste or smell, have an anisidine number of lessthan 6, and retain more than 98% of the omega-3 longchain fatty acids present in the natural unrefined fish oil.