How Is Fish Oil Produced?
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Definition
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Fish oil is a product that usually is intentionally produced from fish waste or industrial grade fish, however it can also be a by-product of fish processing. In order to make the fish oil fit for consumption by humans, it must be processed through a means of refinement to purify it of all undesirable material. Fish oil is produced through a carefully monitored procedure that takes the raw fish product and puts it through steps of first cooking then pressing the raw material. Fish oil is taken as a dietary supplement for a variety of reasons primarily due to its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids.
Production
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First, upon intake at most processing facilities, the raw fish product must be sampled to determine how fresh it is and how much oil one can expect to be producing from the shipment received. Once it has been deemed acceptable, it moves on to the first actual step in production : cooking. The fish product is cooked through a process of steam heating (the only method allowed in the United States) where it will reach a top temperature of almost 100 degrees Celsius. This important step not only makes the fish sterile, but also causes the proteins to coagulate and alters the cell membranes to aid in the extraction of the oil from the dry material.
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Conclusion
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After cooking, the fish product is then taken to a screw press, which removes most of the liquid from the raw fish material and places it in a canister of some kind. This process also creates a fish presscake which is used by many facilities for the production of fish meal. The gathered liquid contains not only water, but also most of the fish oil, salts, proteins, and even undesired waste particles.
The liquid then goes through a separator which is able to extract only the oil from the mixture which is then housed in large tanks until shipped. Eventually the fish oil is combined with preservatives and other ingredients so that it can be put into pill form for human consumption, where it is prized due to its high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids.
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