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Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3

Objective ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

What is Surimi? ............................................................................................................................................. 4

Types of Surimi Based Products .................................................................................................................... 5

Selection of Suitable Species for surimi and surimi-based products ............................................................ 5

How to prepare Surimi .................................................................................................................................. 6

Present Status of Surimi and Surimi Based Products in Bangladesh ............................................................ 7

Domestic Market Potential ........................................................................................................................... 7

Future Prospects of Special Products based on Surimi in Bangladesh ......................................................... 8

Will it be Sustainable?................................................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................... 9

Reference .................................................................................................................................................... 10

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Production of Surimi and Surimi Based
Fishery Products in Bangladesh

Introduction
Surimi is a washed minced fish meat with cryoprotectants added for longer frozen shelf life.
Surimi-based products are prepared by extruding the surimi paste, prepared with other ingredients,
into various shapes which resemble shellfish meat such as crab, lobster, scallop or shrimp. The
new-generation product, the so-called shellfish analog, has not only gained popularity in Japan and
Korea but has also become well accepted by the Western world.

Surimi is primarily a stabilized fish protein used for the manufacture of surimi based seafood.
Surimi seafood is traditionally referred to as kamaboko in Japan, but over the past 20 years, surimi
and surimi-based seafood have become Americanized and currently they include a wide range of
surimi-based seafood products.

Objective
The main purpose was to gather information on surimi and surimi based products. Also about the
Present condition of surimi based industry in Bangladesh and their future potential. To know which
steps needs to be taken to establish sustainable surimi based industry in this country.

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What is Surimi?
Surimi is known in Asian dietary from quite a long time ago, but recorded in Japan in 1100 A.D.
and the most popular use of Surimi in Asia has been the fish ball or "Kamaboko". The Japanese
culinary art has made it well known worldwide. The artistry of surimi is now beyond the block of
flash frozen minced fish and has carved for itself a place in the history development of food for

Figure 1 : DIfferent types of Suimi Based Products

human need.

Surimi consists of unique food products, with flavor similar to that of naturally occurring crab,
shrimp, lobster and other shellfish, but with added convenience, safety and versatility. It is
impossible, however, to completely imitate natural components that go into production of surimi;
therefore, surimi seafood should be distinguished as a separate food product. For this reason,
surimi crabmeat is still legally referred to as imitation crabmeat in the United States. However in
the rest of the world, including Canada, it is called as crab flavored seafood.

Surimi, in brief, is minced fish meat that has been leached by washing with water then mixed with
sugar and other additives, and then frozen. After gutting, boning, mincing and washing, the fish
meat is refined and then dehydrated using a screw press. The resulting product has a doughy
texture, making it an excellent raw material for many surimi based foods. A cryoprotectant blend
containing sugar, sorbitol and phosphates is added, and the mixture is wrapped in plastic and frozen
in the form of blocks. These can be kept in good condition up to a year.

Surimi food products are not for just satisfying human appetite because of its taste, but are also to
feed the imaginative mind of man for perception of food that looks like crabmeat.

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Types of Surimi Based Products
Various kinds of surimi based products are now available. These are commonly found in Japan.
At present time surimi based products are not popular in Bangladesh. Some popular Surimi based
products are –

 Kamaboko
 Chikuwa
 Agemono
 Crab meat analog
 Shrimp analog
 Fish ball
 Fish sausage
 Fish Ham
 Katsuobushi

Figure 2 : Katsuobushi Figure 3 : Kamaboko

Selection of Suitable Species for surimi and surimi-based products

The criteria for the fish used as raw material in the production of surimi are that they should –

• be of low-value,

• be white-fleshed

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• Excellent gelling ability and

• be abundant and available all year-round

Smaller economic size fish species such as catfish, lizardfish, croakers etc. are abundantly
available and might provide an attractive source of raw materials for production of surimi. At
present, Alaskan Pollack (Theragra chalcogramma) accounts for a large proportion of the surimi
supply. Other species, such as sardine, mackerel, barracuda, and striped mullet have been
successfully used for surimi production. However, to make the sea fishing more profitable and
give the under-utilized fish species an acceptable food grade structure, it is essential to investigate
the suitability of under-utilized fish species for use in surimi based production.

How to prepare Surimi

After beheading and gutting, fish are washed in clear cold water and then filleted by hand. Fillets
were then minced with a mincer and washed. Three successive washing were employed with the
solutions (0.5% NaHCO3) to help to remove sarcoplasmic protein and in dewatering for 10

Figure 4: Flow Diagram of Surimi Process

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minutes for about 40°C with a solution/fish mince ratio of 5:1 (V/W). Final dewatering was carried
out by centrifuging. Sorbitol (4 g) and polyphosphate (0.3 g) was added to 100 g of the dewatered
minced as cryoprotective agents. After mixing for 2 min, at temperature below 10°C the resulted
surimi was frozen at -3°C (wrapped in polythene bags) and are kept at -20°C for storage.

Present Status of Surimi and Surimi Based Products in Bangladesh

Traditional surimi or surimi based kamaboko and analog products have not been introduced into
Bangladesh. Although the minces from the trash fish are being used by the Bangladesh Fisheries
Development Corporation and very few industries in some paste products like fish ball, fish cutlet
and fish burger.

A few number of business industry importing Surimi based products to meet the local demand.

The marketing trend of such fish paste products offers possibilities for economic production of
surimi from low grade species/ trash fish species. Small trawlers operating in the sea normally land
substantial amounts of small demersal by-catch fish together with commercial catches of larger
fish and prawns. These fishes are often called trash fish as they are not generally used as food for
human consumption although nutritionally they are quite comparable to the other fish.

Domestic Market Potential

The domestic market for value added fish and shrimp is now in a take off stage since there are
more than half a million foreign nationals residing in Bangladesh. Besides, due to development
activities of Government, private sector and NGOs (both national and international) the country
has made some economic progress, thus already creating a strong rich class and upper middle class
where value added products can have good demand. Therefore opportunity exists for:

 Canned fish – Hilsha, Skip Jack, Tuna etc. for hotel chains, expatriates, tourists, rich and
upper middle class of cities/towns etc.
 Smoked fish for hotel chains, expatriates, tourists and rich class.
 Ready to cook retail pack of fish and shrimp of different types.

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  White fish in the form of fish fillet, dressed fish, stake, mince and mince products like fish
burger, fingers, balls etc. to be marketed in retail packs.
 Salted and dehydrated fishes in retail packs.
 Initial marketing should start in Dhaka and Chittagong cities.
 Gradual marketing in divisional and district cities /towns in retail packs.

The export market of value-added products is highly competitive, involving changes in type of
products, forms and packaging as well as consumer behaviors. Often exporters are being
disadvantage by the complexity of health and quality regulations. Therefore, processing industry,
in particular, requires qualified fish processors, plant manager and post-harvest technologists.
Exporter must be aware of market requirements, regulations and standard of importing countries
including any possible changes and should check with the importing countries before shipping
their products.

Future Prospects of Special Products based on Surimi in Bangladesh

In the past, there was no demand for surimi based products in our country. But, at present many
restaurant are being opened which serves traditional Japanese cuisine, with time people’s taste and
demand changed. So many people are interested to try these new dishes. As the demand is growing
it can be said there will be high demand for surimi based products in Bangladesh.

Will it be Sustainable?
Production of Surimi and Surimi Based products can be sustainable, as there is sufficient amount
of raw fish available in Bangladesh. For sustainable production it’s necessary to have –

 Available fish species

 Regular supply of raw materials
 Transportation facilities
 Suitability of temperature
 Better storage condition
 Intended consumers in huge amount
 Demand in market

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All of these criteria matches with our current condition. If the govt. provide required helps and
equipment, then surimi based industry can develop faster. As it will meet the demand of local
community and also can be exported to other countries

Conclusion
Surimi and Surimi-based value added fishery products are very important for underutilized marine
species which make better utilization of this species. These highly nutritional foods with their high
protein and low fat content may offer a delicious taste to the new generation and may fulfill the
demand of enriched diet for the patients as well as growing children. Developing value added
fishery products in Bangladesh needs urgent attention of the Government. The processing industry
and the quality control agencies. It is vital in respect of export as well as local marketing. More
foreign exchange can be earned through exporting value added products in place of traditional fish
and shrimp products. On the other hand less popular low cost under-utilized fish, small shrimps
etc. can be made popular and acceptable to the urban well to do class through value addition. This
will help to increase better utilization of the otherwise neglected fishery resources and thereby
enhance per capita annual fish consumption in which we are very much lagging behind. In order
to do so, low cost unpopular fish may be used for production of cheaper value added products for
local market and low income group people. On the other hand high value products from quality
fish may be produced for affluent people and export market. So, successful manufacture and
marketing is required for well spread and popular in our country. Fishery products play a very
important role in the economy of our country, so, we must have the proper idea about value-added
fishery products.

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Reference
 Satam, S.B., Joshi, V.R. and Sajidkhan, I. 2002. Trends in Production of Surimi and
Surimi-Based Seafoods
 Nowsad, A., Uddin, M.H. and Niwa, E. 1998. Suitability of 3-trash-fish species in the
manufacture of surimi in Bangladesh
 Kamal, M. Hossain, M.R.A., Hossain, M.A., Faruk, M.A.R. and Hossain, M.I. 1993.
Development of fish products from under-utilized fish species of Bangladesh-1. Studies on
the gelforming ability of some abundantly available under-utilized marine fish species of
Bangladesh. Bangladesh Journal of Fisheries

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