ADVANCED ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR PROTEIN AND FAT DETERMINATION IN FISHMEAL SAMPLES

27/04/2022

Due to the high content of protein and the nutritive value of lipids and other constituents, fishmeal represents a superior aqua-feed and pet-food ingredient. Discover how VELP’s analytical instruments can help you in the determination of these fundamental parameters.

ADVANCED ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR PROTEIN AND FAT DETERMINATION IN FISHMEAL SAMPLES

Fishmeal is a coarse brown flour and it is obtained by cooking, pressing, drying and milling fresh raw fish or fish trimmings. There are several types of fish meal depending on the source of fish or fishery by-products used and on the processing technology involved. Fishmeal is an excellent source of highly digestible protein, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and essential vitamins and minerals.

In order to assess its properties, protein and fat content parameters have been measured for this type of sample.

The performance of VELP instruments has been evaluated by participating in the proficiency testing program organized by BIPEA. Samples were analyzed using VELP solutions and the obtained results were compared with the BIPEA tolerance range.

How to quickly, reliably and accurately determine protein and fat content in fishmeal samples?

1. Proteins Determination

The combustion method and the Kjeldahl method are the standard methods for protein content determination.

We recommend NDA 702, the VELP versatile and cloud-enabled elemental analyzer for Nitrogen and Protein determination according to the Dumas combustion method.

VELP Nitrogen/Protein Elemental Analyzers, with high productivity and non-stop performances, are indeed ideal for high throughput, being fully automated and requiring just 3-4 minutes per analysis. This makes the Dumas method the cost-effective choice for those laboratories that analyze a large number of samples per day.

We likely mention VELP’s Kjeldahl Digestors and Distillators, used for the catalytically supported mineralization of organic material in a boiling mixture of sulfuric acid and sulfate salt at digestion temperatures higher than 400 °C.

VELP Kjeldahl unites are still a robust solution for protein determination in the food and feed industry. In particular, when the lab occasionally performs a small number of analyses on greater samples, the versatility and predictability of the Kieldahl method make it the most practical choice.

Both techniques are approved by several official organizations and are efficient and capable solutions to analyze wide nitrogen content in feed samples with high accuracy and repeatability.

The table shows the nitrogen/protein results obtained from the BIPEA fishmeal samples by VELP NDA 702 Dumas unit and VELP Kjeldahl system composed by DKL 20 Automatic Kjeldahl Digestion Unit and UDK 169 Automatic Kjeldahl Analyzer with AutoKjel Autosampler. The protein factor used to calculate the protein content from nitrogen content was 6.25.

2. Total Fat Determination

The hot solvent extraction process, with the SER 158, VELP’s automatic solvent extractor, is based on the Randall Method. Five times faster than the traditional Soxhlet Method, the Hot Extraction maximizes throughput and minimizes solvent consumption.

The determination of the total fat content of fishmeal samples requires also preliminary hydrolysis using hydrochloric acid 4 N, followed by filtration and washing, in the HU 6 Hydrolysis Unit, in order to free completely the fat molecules.

Then the hydrolyzed sample is ready for extraction and it can be easily transferred to VELP Solvent Extractors series avoiding any possible sample loss and ensuring improved accuracy of results.

The table shows the crude and total fat results obtained from the BIPEA fishmeal samples by VELP SER 158 solvent extractor unit and HU 6 Hydrolysis Unit. The extract percentage calculation is performed by using the following formulas:

Extract (g) = (Total - Tare)
Extract (%) = Extract x 100 / (Sample)

Where:

Sample = sample weight (g)
Tare= weight of the empty extraction cup (g)
Total = weight of the extraction cup + extract (g)

Discover all the details and optimize your results

Optimize the performance of the laboratory, maximize productivity and save valuable time for other operations by choosing our state-of-art instruments for fully automated analyses.

Following this goal, we developed a wide range of instruments for protein determination in food and feed as well as technology solutions to make your laboratory smarter.

The results obtained in the proficiency testing fell within the expected value range indicated by BIPEA. It demonstrates the high performance of VELP analyzers for protein determination as well as crude and total fat determination in fishmeal samples.

Don't hesitate to find the best solution that meets your needs.