What is the difference between industrial and traditional fish sauce?

(Dan Tri) - These days, the draft TCVN - 12607:2019 of the Department of Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has caused a "fever" in the press and public opinion. Many contents in the draft were criticized by experts, especially the "identification" of traditional fish sauce with industrial fish sauce.

The article by TS.BS Tran Ba Thoai will provide a scientific analysis of the very important question: What is the difference between traditional fish sauce and karma?

Fish sauce is a familiar dipping sauce in Vietnamese cuisine

Dipping sauce overview

Dipping sauce is the common name for salty liquids used to dip and dip food in, to increase the flavor as well as add flavor to the dishes.

Therefore, dipping sauce is almost an indispensable accompaniment in Oriental cuisine in general, and Vietnamese cuisine in particular.

Three common sauces in Vietnam are fish sauce, soy sauce and soy sauce. Recently, there is a sauce prepared with many industrial additives with the color and taste similar to fish sauce, which is marketed by food companies under the name "industrial" fish sauce.

Traditional fish sauce is naturally fermented sea fish

According to the Wikipedia open dictionary, fish sauce is a mixture of water, salt with amino acids converted from protein (protein) in fish meat through hydrolysis by protein-digesting enzymes available in the fish intestine along with a microorganism. salt tolerant anaerobic bacteria.

Fish sauce is usually made from sea fish, mainly anchovies, sardines, sardines, etc., but can also use dried fish, other shellfish, mussels, shrimp and crabs. After a period of incubation for fermentation for nearly a year, the fish sauce can be extracted. Currently, traditional fermented fish sauce production facilities have also modernized the production process and made it on a large scale to save time, but the final product is still true fish sauce.

Fish sauce protein is the content of organic proteins such as amino acids, peptides, and proteins contained in fish sauce. Depending on the protein level, traditional fish sauce is graded as fish sauce, (ear), fish sauce type 1, fish sauce type 2... On average, fish sauce has a protein level ranging from 15 to 25, ie 15 to 25 g of organic protein / 100 ml of fish sauce, fish sauce, "eating aching teeth" can be as high as 35 degrees of protein.

Fish sauce is very popularly used to process food in Vietnam such as: making dipping sauce, seasoning instead of salt, seasoning countless different dishes, preserving meat, melons, onions, etc.

Industrial fish sauce: dipping sauce with additives

If called the right nature, industrial fish sauce is a kind of sauce named fish sauce. This is an industrially processed sauce with a simple recipe of water and dozens of chemicals, food additives...

Go to Google, look up a "representative" of common industrial fish sauce, the ingredients listed on the package include: water, salt, sugar and anchovy essence, with dozens of other chemicals and additives such as additives. flavor enhancers, preservatives, synthetic salmon flavors, synthetic sweeteners, natural colors extracted from gardenia fruit, acidity regulators, thickeners, natural colorants… Therefore, it can be said that These "pretend" sauces, industrial fish sauces, and "pseudo" fish sauces have the main ingredients as "fish essence" and "fish flavor". facts) !.

Scientific opinions and discussions

According to Prof. Ha Duong Tuong, Paris, France, repeat that fish sauce is true, made of fresh fish and sea salt. He also said that exactly 100 years ago, the Indochina Pasteur Institute had researched on fish sauce, coming to a definition written by the Governor General of Indochina in the decree, which prohibited the sale of any products called so-called fish sauces. fish sauce but not made from fresh fish and sea salt. Professor Tuong suggested calling sauces not made from fresh fish and sea salt "chemical fish sauce".

Didier Corlou, the famous chef of Sofitel Metropole Hanoi, in the 2004 Fish Sauce Seminar, with all the regulatory agencies, research agencies, and consumers, affirmed that the word "water" fish sauce” is only used for traditional products made from salted fish for fermentation, and sauces with additives should not be called fish sauce. Didier Corlou himself also wrote a book called Fish Sauce and directly made fish sauce in the garden of the Metropole hotel with anchovies and coarse salt as well as "hiding" in the hotel cellar 100 bottles of fish sauce so that it "aged" as wine.

At the press conference on the afternoon of March 8, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Science and Technology, to discuss the Draft TCVN 1260: 2019 Code of practice for fish sauce production, Dr. Tran Thi Dung, fish sauce expert, former officer of the Department of Science and Technology , Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, who vindicated the case of traditional fish sauce "contaminated with arsenic" more than two years ago, emphasized that the word "fish sauce" or traditional fish sauce, which is only used for products made from fish and salt, is not mistaken. used for industrial fish sauce is dipping sauce mixed with chemicals. Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of Hanh Phuc Fish Sauce Private Enterprise, Mr. Truong Quang Hien, Chairman of Phan Thiet Fish Sauce Association, Mr. Trieu Anh, School of Quality Management, Department of Science and Technology Kien Giang, also suggested to distinguish two types. Industrial fish sauce and clear tradition.

In my opinion, it is clear that the two types of traditional and industrial fish sauce differ in 3 points: one is the input material. Traditionally fish and salt, Industry includes "fish flavor", salt and many other additives and flavors, so the color and taste are often more attractive; two is protein. Traditional is usually higher, especially the ear fish sauce, so the traditional fish sauce is more nutritious; and three are preservatives. Traditionally the main preservative is salt, so it's usually more salty. Industrial fish sauce uses chemical additives to preserve. Therefore, it is necessary to have a separate standard for these two types of fish sauce.

Dr. BS Tran Ba ​​Thoai

Member of Executive Committee of Vietnam Endocrine Society