Gelatin made from chicken carcasses

In a new study, researchers have managed to make gelatin from chicken. Pork is currently the main source of gelatin, according to Partner Science Norway. According to the publication, as many as three different protein products can be extracted from the same poultry carcass using the newly developed processes as described by the study.

“In the industry, chicken and turkey carcasses are currently processed using enzymes that release the fat, break down the proteins and extract bones and minerals. The fat is mainly used for animal feed. The protein is also used in animal feed, especially pet food, but also in food for human consumption,” the article reported.

In the study, scientists demonstrated a new method that enabled more protein products to be extracted from the poultry carcass.

The publication reported that the protein found in poultry can be divided into muscle proteins and connective tissue.

“These have completely different characteristics, but this is not taken into account in today’s processing. All the protein ends up in the same product,” said Nils Kristian Afseth, a researcher on the study. Connective tissue proteins in poultry melt at higher temperatures compared with similar proteins from pigs, the primary source of gelatin.

“So, by combining different temperatures and enzymes in relation to different proteins, we have developed a process where we get not just one, but three types of protein products from the same poultry carcass,” Afseth said. One of these proteins included large collagen peptides, which acted as gelatin.

For more information, email Janine Ryan at janiner@caxton.co.za. Read the original article at bit.ly/3Lw2bZ6.