Fish gelatin quality from different fish species
What it found
Fish skins can make gelatin with a wider range of melting and gelling temperatures than gelatin from mammals, while still having high gel strength and viscosity.
The quality varies with the raw material, the manufacturing process and the test settings.
What they found
What gelatin does
Gelatin is used in foods, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and photographic films as a gelling agent, stabilizer, thickener, emulsifier and film former. It melts and gels below human body temperature.
Where gelatin comes from
Gelatin is mostly made from pig skin, and cattle hides and bones. Fish skins from a number of species have been studied as another source.
How quality is judged
Industry judges gelatin quality by gel strength, viscosity, melting or gelling temperatures, water content and microbiological safety. For manufacturers, the yield from a raw material also matters.
What the authors conclude
- They review the gelatin quality achieved from different fish species along with the experimental procedures used to determine gelatin quality.
How it was done
Fish skins have drawn interest as a gelatin source because they avoid religious concerns shared by Jews and Muslims, and in some cases offer technological advantages over mammalian gelatins.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- This is a review of laboratory studies on gelatin quality. It does not report health effects in people.
- The quality results come from lab tests on gelatin from different raw materials and processes, so they may not carry over to every product on a shelf.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Yüzüncü Yil University, Turkey
The paper
- Title
- Fish gelatin
- Type
- ReviewThe authors read earlier studies and describe what they found. It isn’t a new study.
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Boran G, Regenstein JM (2010). Fish gelatin. Advances in food and nutrition research. doi:10.1016/S1043-4526(10)60005-8PubMed 20691955DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error